A Memory Lost in the Mists of Time
by Kyarorain
Summary: Being led to an undiscovered castle by a strange girl is just the start of many surprising events in store for the Adepts. Written for Halloween 2003!
1. An Unexpected Invitation

**A Memory Lost in the Mists of Time**

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


---   
Ugh... another try at a Halloween fanfic. Um, the title's pretty cryptic, don't worry about it. 

Ivan: Another Halloween fanfic?! 

'Spooked' is too long to be finished in time... and I tried another one, but IthinkIforgottheplot! ^^; 

Jenna: That's so typical! 

So, what is Halloween? It's a spooky festival with ghosts and stuff. 

Garet: And pumpkins! 

........ Er, whatever, now just let me try this! 

Mia: Camelot owns Golden Sun ^_^; 

I just want to say something in case you're confused. The group has already been to Mars Lighthouse, for a brief time, and well, they got far enough to get the Sol Blade, but they haven't got the Teleport Lapis or something. I suppose you could say they are just taking a quick break... I do that all the time, there's nothing wrong with it is there? ... In the game, not real life... honest...   
--- 

~*~*~ 

_Chapter the First___

_An Unexpected Invitation___

~*~*~   


The air was deathly cold, wrapping gentle tendrils around soft flesh before constricting and spreading the intense freezing feeling through it, choking off their warmth. It was an eerily quiet and sinister night. The silence was only broken by the rapid breathing of a young girl as she ran through the castle, her feet drumming as she ran, fleeing over the cold flagstone floor. However, coming to a dead end was inevitable and the girl looked up in horror as she was greeted by a large wooden door that she knew she could not break down. To one side was the castle wall which she could not climb for fear of death, and to the other side there was a long drop that could surely kill her. 

The girl turned around slowly and the large manifestation of a creature bore down upon her. The only thing she could do was scream, her mouth opening wide, a great yawning chasm. A magnificent scream burst out, only to be broken off, and then there was silence... 

~*~*~ 

_250 Years Later_

_~*~*~_   


It was a fairly average day and everything happening so far was fairly average, at least considering that the eight Adepts were trying to save the world, oh and with an old man as well- a useless Alchemy Sage, only useful for talking. At the moment they were having a picnic out in the open, since it had been ages since a town was last seen and according to the map, it was still a while until they reached the next town anyway. 

"This food is absolutely marvellous!" Garet, a stocky Mars Adept with red hair that appeared to have exploded, declared as he chomped on a slice of fruit cake. "I wish it could last forever!" 

"You say that all food is 'marvellous', Garet!" Jenna rebuked him, throwing a date at him. "Besides, I've had better than this! Now the food in Mikasalla is quite something..." 

"Huh?" Garet stared at the offending food that had hit him in the head. He promptly reached down and popped it in his mouth. "That's nice too! Thanks, Jenna!" The surprised fellow Mars Adept animefell, almost landing in the food. 

"We should have a rule at mealtimes," Isaac spoke up, clearly intending for Jenna to hear him. "Don't feed the Mars Adept. Got that?" 

"I wasn't feeding him," Jenna mumbled into the grass, slamming a clenched fist into the ground and mock glaring up at Isaac. 

"He thinks you did," Sheba giggled, her green eyes gleaming mischievously. "You're so sweet to feed him like that." 

"Shut up..." Jenna ordered, turning her glare to the female blonde. "I SAID I did not feed him!" 

"It looked like it-" Picard broke off as Jenna promptly gave him a very evil look. "Maybe we should talk about different matters instead?" 

"It's almost sunset," Felix spoke, looking up at the sky. The sun was already dropping towards the horizon and the sky was changing from blue to pink. "Either we finish our meal quickly and run to the nearest town, wherever that is, or we camp out." 

"Ooh, camping out isn't that much fun," Ivan looked worried as he considered it. "I'm often worried that monsters are going to attack us when we're sleeping out in the open." 

"Where is the nearest town on your map?" Kraden asked. "If we hurry up and try to get there as soon as possible, then I believe we should not have to worry and we'll be sleeping under a roof-" 

"Kraden, we get the picture," Mia interrupted as nicely as possible, a fake smile stretching her face. "You do not have to explain it in detail." 

"There's no point in telling him," Isaac whispered into her ear as quietly as he could manage. "No matter what, he's always talking and he has to explain every tiny little word... he's terrible." 

"Ahem!" Kraden snapped. "I do hope you weren't talking about me just now, Isaac! Why, when I was a young whippersnapper like you-" 

"Uh, no, Kraden," Isaac beamed fakely, trying to look the perfect picture of innocence. "I would never talk about you behind your back." 

"We're in trouble," Felix declared as he studied the map, his forehead creased in a frown. 

"Quit the melodrama," Jenna sighed at her brother's way of putting things as if it was the end of the world. "Just how are we in trouble exactly?" 

"We are still a long way away from the next town, which is Mikasalla as you happened to mention a short while ago," Felix folded up the map and put it in his pocket. "If we run... we might make it very late." 

"Let's go now then," Sheba jumped up. "No dilly-dallying, we've got to go!" 

"But can't I just eat a bit longer?" Garet whined, looking extremely piteous. "I'm still hungry-" 

"NO," Mia shouted sternly in his face, pulling the cake out of his hand. "We go. NOW." 

"I'll have that," Ivan leaped forwards and snatched the cake out of Mia's grasp, cramming it into his mouth. "He'sh too shlow 'nyway." 

"No talking with your mouth full," Picard rebuked him, helping pack the food away into the basket. "You'll choke to death or something." 

"Ivan!" Mia turned and glowered at the offending Wind Adept. "Your manners are appalling!" 

"And we're appalling when it comes to getting a move on," Isaac winked, hoisting the basket handle over his shoulder and walking off. "Come on!" 

"You know what we need?" Felix walked briskly at the head of the group, the sudden breeze tugging playfully at his long brown hair. "A device that takes us from town to town. How does that sound?" 

"You're speaking in rhyme," Garet said pointlessly. He looked around, expecting someone to laugh, but nobody did and he ended up looking embarrassed. 

"That is a very interesting idea," Kraden babbled, trying to keep up with Felix. "I think that we should try and invent such a device that can do it." 

"I don't think you could invent it," Jenna said scornfully. "It would probably just have to exist... like the Hover Jade..." 

"How can something just exist?" Isaac mused. "I've never really thought about it before." 

"And what about the Lighthouses, and Mt. Aleph?" Mia added. "Did they just exist all the time?" 

"I have heard that Mt. Aleph was around when the world began," Picard recalled. "What a mystery." 

"Well, we're nowhere near Mt. Aleph, we're trying to get to Mikasalla!" Sheba exclaimed. "Hurry up!" 

"Garet is lagging," Ivan taunted, pointing at the named Fire Adept, who was hanging at the back of the group, still looking somewhat mad for not getting any time to eat all his food. "Come on, slowcoach, we aren't going to wait forever for you." 

"Shut up, Ivan!" Garet exclaimed. "I don't care!" 

"Ooh, he doesn't care!" Jenna giggled. "That's it, everybody, speed up, Garet doesn't care, we'll just leave him behind." 

"No!" Garet wailed, increasing his pace. "Don't leave me behind!" 

"Works every time," Jenna smirked. 

"I don't think we're going to make it," Felix gasped for breath and looked back, somewhat disheartened to see that the sun was almost completely gone. "Time's passing too fast..." 

"And I'm getting tired," Isaac said regretfully. "What are we going to do, Felix?" 

"If we really can't get there soon," Felix slowed down to a stop and shook his head. "Looks like it's going to be a night out." 

"Fantastic!" Jenna shouted in frustration. "We are going to be monster food!" 

"If we take turns keeping watch over the night, it should be okay," Picard assured her. 

"But what if it rains?" Mia asked. "I don't mind rain so much, but if it rains, we'll be soaked in our sleep." 

"Now that could be a problem," Ivan looked worriedly up at the sky to see that it was rapidly darkening and the clouds were intensely hard to see. "Now I can't even tell if it will rain or not." 

"We've lost!" Sheba fell to her knees, driving a fist into the ground in frustration. "We're stranded outside and it could rain!" 

Everybody else came to a stop, standing in a forlorn group as they realised how serious the situation was. But then a new voice broke into their desperate silence, that was not from someone in their group or a voice they had heard before. 

"Er, excuse me, it just looked like you had a problem. Can I help?" 

The somewhat surprised Adepts (and Kraden) turned to face the newcomer who had spoken. It was a young girl who appeared to be roughly thirteen or fourteen years of age, with luminously pale skin and wide, staring eyes that were the colour of the ocean, her head framed by a cascade of dark curls that fell down to her waist, an elaborate white bow fixed to the hair atop her scalp. She looked prim and formal with an ankle length lacy white dress, matching gloves and polished black boots that would make some people wonder what she was doing outside at a time when it was becoming dark. 

"Who are you?" Jenna immediately asked, surprised to see a girl who appeared to have just come out of nowhere at such a strange time. It just did not seem right for some reason. 

"Lila," The girl responded, her voice soft spoken and gentle. "I was wondering what was wrong... will you tell me in case I could help?" She tilted her head, her curls swaying in the breeze. 

"We're... trying to find shelter," Felix said hesitantly, unsure of whether he should be trusting this girl or not. But then again, surely there was not much a little girl could do against a group of eight skilled Psynergy-weilders so they would be alright, surely? "We can't get to the nearest town quickly, and are worried that it might rain while we're camping out." 

"Do you trust her?" Sheba hissed. She was sure that there was something strange about this girl, and she did not like the look of Lila, she had not liked her from the start. The girl standing before them looked strange and ... _spooky_. But Sheba would not say that in case she sounded stupid. 

"We're not openly trusting her," Isaac cut in before Felix was forced to respond. "And she can't do very much anyway. Look, she's just a little girl. We'll be fine, Sheba." 

"Just a little girl?" Sheba's emerald eyes narrowed suspiciously. "And just what does that make me?" 

"An Adept," Ivan clapped a hand on her shoulder and winked. "A Wind Adept, no less. We've got the advantage, but I don't think we're going to need our Psynergy. Although, I can understand why you're suspicious." 

"I see," Lila nodded, her hair bobbing up and down animatedly. "Do not worry, I have the solution to your problem." 

"Just like that?" Garet whispered somewhat loudly for he was not exactly the best at whispering. "That's... weird! Ow!" He had just been jabbed by Mia's swift elbow and withered under her warning glare, deciding he would have to remember to keep quiet in case she jabbed him again. 

"You have someplace where we can stay?" Picard asked hopefully. 

"Yes, I do," Lila assured him, smiling and showing large white teeth. Sheba stared at them and shuddered as she thought that they reminded her of tombstones. For some reason, the female Wind Adept was in a particularly melodramatic mood. 

"You do? Now that's excellent!" Kraden exclaimed, hopping up and down. "To think that while we are fretting about our terrible situation, a girl should come up in an instant and provide the solution to our problem. I say that we should go, Felix, the chance seems too good to pass up." 

"Kraden, what usually happens when we do what you say?" Jenna interrupted, looking sceptical. "Remember Sol Sanctum?" 

"Nonsense!" Kraden protested. "That was then, when we were going into a sacred place and it was sacred for a reason. I am sure that if we go with her we are not breaking any rules and therefore will not get into any troublesome situations. What do you say, Felix?" 

'Now I know we're in trouble,' Sheba thought as she listened to the rambling old man. 'If Kraden's enthusiastic about it... but then again, he is a very enthusiastic old man. Although maybe I'd rather face the rain. Come on, Felix, _don't_ accept!' 

"Well," Felix began considering the idea, although it was difficult when a hyperactive old man was shouting in his ear and encouraging him. "I think that in the interest of our own health and safety... since I'm not too happy with the idea of camping out..." He turned away, facing everybody else. "Anybody for or against going with her?" 

"I am against!" Sheba said quickly. "We do not even know who she is, how can we trust her so suddenly? She might not be dangerous, but it's a bit strange that she popped out of nowhere so late with the immediate solution to our problems." 

"I say we should go!" Kraden shouted, although nobody really cared and they already knew how enthusiastic he was about staying anyway. 

"Maybe we should," Jenna spoke up, throwing an apologetic glance at Sheba. "Sorry, Sheba, but look, if anything happens to us, we've got our Psynergy to protect us after all." 

"She's just a nice little girl willing to help people in trouble," Picard insisted. "I think that is very sweet and caring of her and I wish more people were like her. I say that we should stay. We have to have shelter as well." 

"It would be rude to refuse," Mia said pityingly. "Besides, we don't really have much choice. We should accept her offer." 

"Come on, Sheba," Ivan threw an arm around her shoulders and grinned. "It will probably be great there, nice food and everything. What could possibly go wrong? I understand how you feel but we have to say yes." 

"I want to go and stay!" Garet yelled out his answer. "Maybe we'll get free food! OH, and sleep for free in a nice warm bed!" 

"Typical Garet, thinking of stomach and rest over safety," Isaac poked his friend in the belly. "But I'm happy enough to go and stay. It's more practical than staying outside." 

"Alright! Fine!" Sheba exclaimed in frustration. "I don't care, do what you like. I can see I'm losing here, so never mind me..." 

"It will be okay, Sheba, honest," Felix tried his best to assure her. "And I won't let anything happen to any of you, so it will be alright, really!" He turned back to face Lila and finally made the decision for the entire group. "We accept your kind offer, thank you." 

"Follow me then," Lila flashed a quick smile before turning and running off into the darkness, with the Adepts (and Kraden) in pursuit. 

If it had been broad daylight then, they might have noticed something odd in the air, like a veil that hung from heaven, a mist suspended in the still air. However, the night was pitch black and the veil was hidden. Nobody happened to see that they were running through a mist, simply following the little girl as she ran, her curls bobbing up and down wildly, the little white bow flapping crazily, her little legs pedalling up and down speedily. 

On the horizon loomed a sight that everybody there except for the girl swore that they had never seen before despite having trekked over nearly every inch of the world of Weyard. A castle stretched out, its peaks reaching to the sky as if to signal its presence. The silvery orb known as the moon or Anemos for the people of Contigo claimed it to be rose into the sky, a black turret plainly visible against its shining surface. A stone wall was erected around the fortress, a gaping arch knocked into it and it was underneath this arch that everybody came to a stop. 

"We are here," Lila declared, clasping her hands together. "Please wait, I will let the Lord and Lady know that you are here." She bobbed, performing a quick curtsey, and then scampered off to the castle, disappearing beyond a broad oaken door which seemed to clang ominously as it shut behind her. 

"I have never seen this place before," Jenna stared at the castle in fascination. "Isaac, have you seen it before?" 

"No," Isaac shook his head, clearly astounded at the unusual sight. The castle was grand, appearing to be bigger even than the palace of the now deceased Babi, a long way away in Tolbi. "I've never seen it." 

"This is too spooky," Sheba shuddered visibly, her eyes wide with fright. "A weird place that we've never even SEEN! How is that possible?" 

"Perhaps we did not look hard enough?" Felix suggested, although he clearly knew that he was just bluffing. 

"That could be possible," Kraden of course had to say something on the matter. "In the darkness she may have led us to an area where we did not go before, perhaps secluded behind mountains or something-" 

"Look at the size of that castle!" Jenna almost screamed. "It's not that easy to miss, and besides we've been nearly everywhere, everywhere on Osenia. EVERYWHERE. It's as if it popped out of nowhere." 

"We could face the rain?" Ivan pointed out. Of course nobody was happy with this idea except Sheba seemed to be seriously considering it. "I am sure there's a logical explanation for it somehow. Or a scientific one." 

"We can always ask maybe?" Mia suggested, suddenly yawning. "Ahh! I am quite tired..." 

"I wish they would hurry up in there," Garet grumbled as usual. "I'm getting cold out here and I want to go to bed. Now." 

"Be patient," Picard however was also wishing that he could go to bed as well. Just about everybody felt the same way. 

"Look," Felix said suddenly, gazing intently at the castle. A man was standing at the door and beckoning. "Some man wants us to go over there." 

"Just don't call him 'some man'," Jenna quipped as they hastily walked over to greet the man. "He might not appreciate it," she added as a whisper. 

"Oh, I say, you have a marvellous castle-" Kraden was quickly silenced. Felix stepped forwards under the penetrating gaze of the strange man. He was smartly dressed with black clothes and a red cloak on his back, and a bald head ringed with grey lined ebony hair. 

"Greetings," Felix spoke nervously. "I am Felix, and we have come seeking shelter for the night." 

"Felix and company," The man regarded them, his dark bluish grey eyes flicking back and forth between each person until they came to rest on the raven haired leader. "You may come in." 

'What a pity,' Sheba thought, looking clearly downcast. 'I would rather face the rain than go into that spooky place.' 

The man turned away and started shuffling down the hallway. Everybody else followed him into the dark building which hid secrets they would take a while to guess. A musty smell hung over the place although the Adepts (and Kraden) were mostly too tired to notice such things. Behind them, the wind blew with a sudden gust and then the oak door slammed shut with a loud bang, causing a ripple of anxiety to flood through the group. Outside, the heavens finally opened up and the ebony sky began to spit with a torrent of rain and lightning crashed down, illuminating everything in blinding white light. 

Time seemed to have slowed down and an eternity spent walking onwards through many dusty corridors which were too dark to be seen clearly for the torches had been extinguished and there were no flames to illuminate their surroundings. The only guide they had was the man for he had a flaming torch in one hand and they followed the flickering orange light, dancing crazily as if it wished to devour everything in a single gulp. So the relief was immense when they were finally led into a brand new room, broad in size with many lit torches fixed to the walls, casting a warm light upon its interior. The carpet was a rich red colour and the walls were built of stone as the castle was built entirely of it. 

In this room, there were more people present. Two middle-aged adults stood facing the door, looking properly regal and proud of themselves. In the background were three people who could have passed for servants, a young man and two young women, dressed in plain clothes with cloths tied around their heads. Upon a chair, Lila was sitting and she waved briefly at them. The room could have passed for a dining room with a large table and matching chairs, and even unlit candles fixed into the middle of the table. 

"Lord and Lady," The man who had led the Adepts and the old scholar through the castle wheezed, bowing over so that his face almost touched the ground. "I have bought the newcomers that Miss Lila told you of. I now request my leave." 

"You may leave," the woman assured. The man gratefully turned and left, shambling past the Adepts, his back still hunched over as he moved. 

"Greetings," the man spoke briskly. "I am Lord McLean and this is Lady McLean. Please state your names, visitors, so that we may be properly introduced to each other." 

"I am Felix from Vale," Felix said yet again, beginning to feel somewhat tired of the introductions. "This is Jenna, my sister, Kraden, a scholar from Tolbi, Isaac and Garet also of Vale, Sheba from the town of Lalivero, Picard of L...unpa," He hastily lied, only just remembering that Picard was keeping Lemuria a secret for certain reasons. "Mia of Imil and Ivan of Contigo." 

"Pleased to meet you," Lady McLean spoke, turning her nose up ever so slightly. She appeared to be the formal and strict type, with her deep ebony hair tied back into a tight bun and quick dark brown eyes that seemed to be watching every little movement. She also wore a long silken light blue dress that reached the floor and a matching cloak over her back. 

"We will prepare a supper for you," Lord McLean said this as a statement and not a question so everybody clearly knew that there was going to be no argument. He could have been the duplicate of his wife with the same quick eyes and pointed features, except his short cut hair was much lighter, a chestnut brown colour. He was dressed in greens and reds and golds, a sign of his power and wealth. "After you have had your supper, the servants will take you to your sleeping quarters. Now the Lady and I must depart." He looped his arm into his wife's arm and they swept out of the room past the shocked guests. 

"Did you hear that?" Garet exclaimed wondrously, his dark brown eyes the size of saucers and his mouth wide open. "We're going to have another supper! I don't believe this..." 

The man and women quickly stepped forwards and ushered everybody to their seats, treating them as special guests, even drawing their chairs back before they sat and telling them where every appliance was and what it was for. 

"The food shall be coming soon," said a maid chirpily. She seemed friendly enough with soft wispy blonde hair and twinkling blue eyes. "Please remain seated." 

"Oh, Miss Lila, shoo," said the other maid despairingly, shaking her head at the raven haired child, her hands on her hips. She seemed to be older than her partner and also much stricter. Unlike her plump, rounded companion, she was thin and bony with dark hair and dark eyes. "You are not a guest." 

"Oh please, Nancy," Lila wheedled, her eyes wide. "I want to stay up a bit longer. Let me! Nobody's stopping me!" 

"Well, we're going to make you go up," Nancy said dramatically, turning to look at the other maid. "Isn't that right, Lucy?" 

"Why, yes!" Lucy immediately bustled over to the young girl and scooped her up, gently putting her down on the floor. "Now off you go, and we might give you something extra nice for breakfast tomorrow." 

"Aww..." Lila looked dejected and turned around, running out of the room. The two maids just looked at each other and sighed despairingly. 

"This is surreal," Isaac studied his reflection in one of the fluted glasses which was sparkling clean and showed no scratches or stains. "I feel like I've just died and gone to heaven, but that's not true." 

"I bet the food is great," Garet looked up and saw the young man placing bottles of rum on the table. "Hey, can I have some?" He was immediately presented some and happily gulped it down, slurping happily. "That was nice!" 

"Can I have some?" Ivan asked with a devious grin on his face as he wondered if he could get away with it. 

"Ivan!" Mia scolded, shocked at his request. "You're far too young to drink. No, don't give him a drink please, his sister will be angry with us. You know she will, Ivan. Can you just imagine? 'Oh, sorry, we got him drunk once'..." 

"I can't drink either then," Sheba spoke up morosely, although she was not morose for the same reasons as Ivan was. His face had promptly fell as Mia had dashed his hopes. She was somewhat unsettled. "I don't want anything..." 

"Yes, you do," Jenna argued, studying a strangely pointed fork, the style of which she had not seen before. "You can't possibly pass it up. The food's probably really good. Oh, that stuff looks good!" She eagerly grabbed one of the bottles of rum and poured the golden liquid into her glass before setting it back down and sipping at her drink. 

"This stuff is weird," Felix coughed as he drained a glass of rum. "I think only Picard and Kraden are old enough for this stuff. So, we 'young ones' must only drink two glasses except Ivan and Sheba who..." He noticed Ivan draw in a sudden breath and look extremely hopeful. "Can't have any. Have water instead." 

"Aww!" Ivan wailed, slumping back in his chair. "That's not fair, Felix! I'm not that much younger than everybody else..." 

"Can't I have more than two?" Jenna whined, clasping her hands together to look like she was begging. 

"No." 

"Please?" 

"No." 

"Huh..." 

"Lovely stuff this," Picard smacked his lips together as he drained a glass of rum. "Being as old as I am really does have its advantages after all." 

"When's the food coming?" Garet asked loudly. 

"I wonder," Lucy turned to look at the male servant. "Tom! Please can you go to the kitchen and ask if the food is ready?" Tom merely nodded and disappeared through a side door. 

"Garet," Mia exhaled deeply. "What are we going to do with you?" 

"What did I do?" asked Garet, obviously not seeing what was wrong with his behaviour. 

"You were quite rude, Garet," Kraden explained and then launched into a long and descriptive explanation of proper ethics in society but Garet was quickly lost and simply stared at the old man with a dumb expression on his face, his eyes glazed over and his mouth hanging open. 

Suddenly, the door burst open again and several chefs came bustling into the dining hall with steaming dishes and platters in their hands. Everybody watched on with fascination as the food was placed before them, lids lifted to reveal tempting food and a variety of aromas swirling in the room, tantalizing their sense of smell. Mouths watered as they reached out to take what they could, heaping their choice of food onto their hot plates. There was such a broad assortment of foods that made heads spin. Roast meats, beef wellington, pies and hot puddings for example steak and kidney, dumplings, vegetables, curries, and even a side platter loaded with cheeses and crackers and spreads and there was bread and butter and margarine too. Even Sheba was impressed although she did not mention this to anybody. Garet greedily grabbed at what he could, loading his plate so that the food was almost falling off, but his companions were too amazed by the selection of foods on offer that they did not bother to correct what he was doing. 

"Wow," Picard summed it up well with a simple word as he looked at his plate. "I had almost forgotten what it was like to be surprised. But now, I am really, really surprised which is quite something coming from an old Lemurian like me." 

Not another word was spoken as everybody started tucking into their food with vigour. The tantalizing smells and pleasant looking foods seemed to have given them voracious appetites, especially Garet, and they would not be satisfied until their stomachs were full. The plates which had once been laden with food rapidly became clean as dishes were swallowed up, and the table began to look very different to how it had been at the beginning of the feast. At last, it was over and everybody was full and in a good mood. Sheba was finally looking happy although she still had slight misgivings. 

"The food was excellent," Garet declared, before letting rip with an almighty burp that sounded throughout the room and shocked silence followed. He went redder than a tomato. "Sorry!" 

"That... was... LOUD," Jenna winced. "Couldn't you... try not to burp in future?" 

"Is that it?" Felix wondered, rubbing his tired eyes. "The feast over?" 

"Oh, no," Lucy assured him hastily. "That was just the main course. The desserts will be coming soon." 

The maids got to work, clearing away the dishes and plates and bearing them to the kitchen, returning with clean plates and placing them in front of the Adepts, also removing the cutlery that was for main courses and replacing them with utensils meant for eating dessert. 

"So, Sheba," Ivan stretched his arms and yawned, flopping back in his chair. "You happy now?" 

"I guess," Sheba admitted. "Although supper isn't really much to judge by." 

"It is a pity we did not find this place before," Picard said with a hint of regret in his voice. "I think that the people here are lovely and polite and..." 

"And their food is excellent," Mia grinned wickedly. "Just ask Garet." 

"It is strange how we did not find it before," Isaac idly drummed his gloved fingers on the table. "But at least we were bought here when we most needed it. Much better than being out there in rain and lightning and whatever else Nature has to throw at us." 

"I'm absolutely stuffed," Felix leaned on the table with his elbows and tiredly stared at the lit candles in the centre of the table, staring intently at the orange flames until they seemed to jump crazily in front of his eyes. "But I guess we can always fit in dessert..." 

"We have to-" Kraden immediately started off on another lecture of etiquette even though nobody had asked for it, and the Adepts immediately tuned out once again. Everybody had talent when it came to fading out once Kraden started talking, so he might as well have been talking to a wall. Rather than listen to him, everybody was talking among each other for one reason or another. Garet tried to steal another glass of rum since he had his second during the meal but he was quickly stopped and scolded severely for trying to pilfer more than he was allowed to have. 

It was not long before the dessert arrived. The chefs burst in once more, their arms loaded with bowls and plates and these they set down in the centre of the table before disappearing back into the kitchen. The main course had been amazing enough, but the dessert course was something else altogether. The table was loaded with ice creams, mousses, cakes, pastries and even meringues and a fruit salad among other dishes such as apple pie or blackberry tart or rhubarb crumble. 

"Oh my..." Mia stared at the wide selection that was available and tried to think what she should have. "How am I supposed to choose?" 

"I'm gonna have... chocolate ice cream," Garet heaped a large portion into a bowl and put it aside. "Apple pie, that meringue with strawberries..." He rattled off his long list as he grabbed the named foods and placed them down on the plate, until his plate was nearly as loaded as the table itself had been. Everybody else gingerly selected one or two dishes each, for they were certainly not as bad as Garet when it came to eating too much. 

"You are going to be sick in the morning," Isaac shook his head and bit into a chocolate eclair, his eyes widening as he tasted the soft, flaky pastry, the smooth chocolate on top and the lashings of cream inside. "Mmmmm!" 

"At this rate, we'll be too heavy to move," Felix dug a spoon into his apple pie and sniffed at the hot apple smell that greeted him as the spoon broke through the pastry. "Smells impressive." He scooped up a chunk of apple and pastry and chewed thoughtfully. "Tastes great." 

"How come we're being fed so much?" Sheba moaned as she sampled a small portion of vanilla ice cream, licking some of it off her lips. "I want to go to bed... I'm so tired... I wish we were in Mikasalla after all..." 

"Mikasalla is not as grand as this castle alone is," Picard told her. "And I think we're quite lucky to have this stroke of fortune. Free food, free rest..." 

"This place isn't so spooky now is it, huh?" Ivan asked cheerfully. His face was stained with chocolate cake although he did not yet realize that. 

"Actually," Sheba licked her spoon and tapped it against her mouth as she mulled this thought over. "I'd say we haven't seen enough of this place yet to decide if it is spooky or not." 

"It's an old building, it probably is spooky!" Jenna commented, looking around the room. "It looks so old somehow..." 

"But aren't you glad we did come here?" Mia asked of Sheba. "It's better than sleeping outside in the rain, oh and the lightning as well. That sort of weather is dangerous." 

"I guess..." Sheba yawned hugely and then slumped forwards on the table, her head narrowly missing the bowl of ice cream and coming to rest on her arms. She had fallen fast asleep from fatigue and being full of food. 

"Aww, she's tired," Jenna looked sympathetic. "I guess we stayed up too late for her liking." 

"Not that we had much choice," Mia added. "They made us have food." 

"Kraden's asleep too," Ivan pointed at the sleeping old man and grinned. "I think I like him better that way." 

"You and everybody else," Isaac smirked and stuffed the last chunk of eclair into his mouth. He considered taking another one but then decided against it. Isaac did not want to be sick too, he was positive that Garet would definitely regret eating so much. 

"How long are we going to stay here?" Garet asked through a mouthful of food, forgetting he was supposed to swallow it before talking. 

"Depends," Felix answered, polishing off the last of his apple pie. "If they want us to stay, that's no problem with me. So long as we don't stay too long." 

"The Mars Lighthouse still needs to be lit," Picard stared at the candles, lost in the mass of orange fire. "Otherwise we're doomed." 

"It will be lit," Felix stretched and sat back in his chair. "No matter what." 

"Why are the people here so nice?" Ivan wondered, bringing up a question that nobody else had put any thought to. "It's strange. It's not like we've ever done anything for these people or met them before, and they are giving us a place to stay and beautiful food too." 

"Maybe they are just nice," Mia suggested. "And we really did need the shelter. I wouldn't have minded going without the food since we already had some, but I suppose they had different ideas." 

"Sheba seemed to think they have an ulterior motive," Jenna spoke. "I don't know though, do you think that these people want to do something?" 

"Well, we shouldn't be too trusting of them," Picard warned. "There's no telling what they are planning." 

"You are too suspicious," Mia teased although she too had the same feelings. "Only time will tell." 

"But right now, I want a soft, warm bed and I want to go to sleep," Felix blinked rapidly, trying to stay awake and rubbed his eyes. "Before I end up like Sheba, sleeping on the table." 

At last, the servants came and cleared away the dishes, leaving a clear table free of any eating utensils. Everybody waited expectantly since they had been told they would be shown to their rooms and it was not like they knew where the sleeping quarters were. Lucy came forwards and coughed to get everybody's attention. 

"Excuse me," Lucy clapped her hands together and smiled cheerfully. "I will show you all to your rooms. Please follow me." 

The tired and relieved Adepts got up, pushing their chairs back. Sheba was still asleep and nobody had the heart to wake her up so Felix carefully lifted her up into his arms, making sure not to wake her up. However, Kraden awoke and he got up along with everybody, actually not opening his mouth for once much to the awake Adepts' relief. 

They slowly trickled out of the dining hall, wearily following the energetic maid. Felix tried very hard not to fall over, since Sheba felt like a dead weight trying to pull him down into the depths of sleep and darkness. Everybody else was also trying to stay up as they walked, blinking sleepily and yawning. Ivan actually almost fell asleep on his feet but was fortunately jolted awake as Garet bumped into him. Whatever sound was present seemed to fade out as they thought only of sleep and soft, warm beds to which they could go, into a long sleep. Up a flight of stairs the sleepy people went, using all the strength they had to pull themselves uphill. 

Upstairs it was much easier to see than it had been downstairs for the landing was brightly illuminated with flaring torches. Lucy walked briskly ahead, leading the Adepts and Kraden through many winding corridors, all of them floored with red carpets. The walls were furnished with hangings, shields and arms and portraits and carvings. It was a fascinating sight but nobody could be bothered to look, blearily gazing ahead at the maid and walking sluggishly in her wake, urging their legs to pedal them onwards towards their chambers so that sleep could be granted to them. 

After what could have been an eternity of exhaustedly walking, Lucy came to a stop and turned to look at her sleepy, blank faced followers. 

"The sleeping quarters are here," Lucy gestured to some doors lining the hallway. "The beds are already made, so make your choice of room. I shall go now, have a good night." She swept past them, disappearing around a corner and leaving everybody in an euphoric silence that was almost deafening, until somebody at last had the strength to speak. 

"Where... does she... get her energy... from?" Mia asked before yawning once more. Nobody could stop yawning at all, they were all that tired. 

"Who... knows?" Isaac sleepily put one foot forwards and swayed unsteadily. "Sleep... now..." 

"Pick your rooms," Kraden spoke wearily. "Weren't you listening? And this is my room," He immediately darted to a door, pulled it open and disappeared inside, shutting the door behind him. 

"Right... what he... said..." Garet stumbled lethargically to a random door and pulled it open, stepping inside and looking around wonderingly. "Bed..." 

"I'll share with Garet," Isaac stretched and yawned for a long time before following him. 

"Me too," Ivan listlessly followed. 

"Girls together, okay?" Mia clapped her hands together and tried to look enthusiastic. "It will be... fun!" 

"All right," Jenna of course had to yawn and rub her eyes. "Let's see... this... room?" 

"Fine by me," Mia shrugged and Jenna opened the door and they were about to go in but Felix stopped them. 

"Wait-" Felix spoke with a supreme effort. "What about... Sheba?" He sagged visibly as he tried to hold his grip on her. 

"Oops," Jenna blinked. "Well, me and Mia will carry her in..." Felix stepped over and Mia and Jenna carefully took Sheba from him. She mumbled in her sleep but did not awake as the girls carried her inside. Felix closed the door behind them and turned to face Picard who had already opened a new door. 

"Sharing with me then?" Picard asked, hand on his hip and other hand on doorknob as he expectantly awaited Felix's answer. 

"Uh, yeah, sure," Felix yawned again and moved at a snail's pace as he walked into the bedroom, Picard closing the door behind them. 

Even as she was put to bed and covered up, Sheba slept soundly. Jenna and Mia could not help staring at her, somewhat amused. 

"Lucky Sheba," Jenna giggled quietly. "She's already asleep, it just isn't fair is it?" 

"Yeah," Mia giggled as well and clapped a hand over her mouth before she burst out laughing. "We better get to bed... I'm exhausted." 

"Me too," Jenna took a running jump and landed onto one of the particularly large beds. "Yay, bed!" She eagerly kicked her boots off and crawled under the cover, burying her head into the pillow. 

"Nice room," Mia sat on her bed and kicked her shoes off and she also removed her robes before slipping into bed as well. 

In just a short time, every Adept was sleeping soundly in bed, their stomachs full and their minds filled with happy thoughts. Yet the castle did not sleep, for the staff were constantly up and awake, watching, although what they were watching, nobody knew. 

~*~*~ 

A dim, milky light filtered through the many windows of the castle, shining down upon its residents. The sky was a dull grey colour, entirely filled with imposing clouds with a grey lining which made everything look dreary, and everything was dim, for the sun was hidden from view. A bird winged its way through the sky, sounding its presence with a loud warble. It did not look at the castle below, thinking only of going to forage for food. 

Mia was the first to awake, early in the morning, and she was amazed at the sight before her, having forgotten where she was. However, time allowed for her memory to return and she recalled the events late yesterday. The excited Mercury Adept practically jumped out of bed and walked around briskly, examining every corner of the room. 

It was a very large room, much larger than any room she had seen before, and it actually had four four-poster beds with hangings around them, several dressers and wardrobes, and there were two doors, one leading out into the hallway and the other leading into a bathroom. The room seemed somewhat ethereal, with whites and golds and creams splashed over every surface, lots of silk to furnish even the chair in the corner. Mia was entranced by the bedroom itself, but the bathroom was just as lovely too. It had two of everything- stone baths, sinks, along with other necessary things and it too was particularly large for a bathroom. 

"Wow..." Mia was starry-eyed as she gazed into the silver lined mirror. Her hair was somewhat messed up, but she was too dazed to care about such things. Right now she felt as if she was floating away on a fluffy cloud. "Oh wow..." Almost bursting with happiness, she rushed out of the bathroom and caught Jenna in the act of waking up. 

"..." Jenna opened her eyes and looked at her surroundings dazedly before shutting her eyes again. "...Is it just me or am I dreaming?" 

"You're not dreaming!" Mia exclaimed, jumping up and down giddily. "It's real, Jenna! Everything's real! Come on, look!" 

"...Hmm," Jenna sat up and then slipped out of bed, wandering around the room cautiously, making sure not to miss anything. After she had taken a look at the bathroom as well, she was fully able to comment. "Lovely." 

"Lovely?" Mia's jaw dropped and she stared at Jenna as if she had just announced that she was going to dance with fifty pink aliens on top of Mt. Aleph. "You're serious? This room... the whole place... is absolutely AMAZING!" 

"Amazing?" A mussed blonde head poked up from a mass of pillows and bedsheets and bleary green eyes looked out at the two conversing women. "What are you... what? Where are we?" 

"The castle, Sheba, remember?" Mia giddily ran over to Sheba's side and leaned on the bed, facing her with a goofy grin on her face. "It's absolutely beautiful! Now I bet you're sorry you didn't want to come!" 

"I don't think it's THAT amazing," Jenna commented, but Mia just ignored her so she simply went and searched for a hairbrush, finding one in the bathroom, and privately hoping that the boys would not be as giddy as Mia. 

"Mia, wait," Sheba held up a hand and tried to slow her trickle of words. "I'm still trying to remember... oh, that's right. Creepy girl. Creepy castle. And I was not very enthusiastic about coming here." 

"But you've changed your mind now, haven't you?" Mia asked hopefully, clasping her hands together and giving Sheba puppy dog eyes as if tempting her to say yes. 

"No," Sheba responded, pushing back the bedsheets and dropping to the floor, picking up her boots and pulling them on. "I'll be on my guard the whole time we're here. I do not intend to relax." 

"But don't you think that the room is beautiful?" Mia asked insistently. 

"It's just an ordinary room," Jenna spoke at the top of her voice as she walked out of the bathroom, hair brushed, and sat on the bed to put on her boots. 

"I suppose it might be," Sheba admitted. "But it's not that amazing." 

"I just think it's so... grand," Mia smiled. "Not that it compares to the Lighthouses or anything, but I just wasn't really expecting to find such a place." 

"The feast last night was something," Jenna recalled. "Garet will cherish the memory for a long time. You know what he's like." 

A loud knock sounded on the door and they looked towards it, wondering who was knocking. 

"Who's out there?" Jenna asked loudly. 

"It's Ivan!" Ivan called through the door. "Are you all up yet?" 

"Are we ever?" Mia rushed to the door and pulled it open, revealing a messy looking Jupiter Adept with rumpled clothes and slightly mussed hair. 

"Good morning," Ivan greeted everybody. "You ready for breakfast?" 

"Breakfast?" Jenna and Sheba looked at each other with a mixture of consternation and mild humour on their faces. 

"Yes, we are," Mia nodded. "Ivan, what do you think of the bedrooms?" 

"They are okay," Ivan shrugged and Mia groaned softly. "Everybody's waiting in the hall. Come on!" 

"I bet Garet's drooling at the prospect of breakfast," Jenna launched herself off the bed and running towards the doorway. "Oh, and hungry too!" 

"That's Garet," Sheba muttered as they filtered out into the hallway, closing the door behind them. 

"Good morning," Picard acknowledged them. "Hope you had a nice sleep. I'm sure I did." 

"Garet actually wasn't sick," Isaac revealed, his eyes wide with amazement. "Even after all that food." 

"That maid came along and invited us all down for breakfast," Felix said with mock annoyance. "After that feast last night too, even." 

"Is Garet hungry?" Jenna teased, poking him in the stomach. 

"Yes, I am, actually," Garet smirked as if being hungry after gorging himself last night was something to be proud of. 

"Now then," Kraden piped up. "We should be going for breakfast but I do wonder if a maid is coming-" 

"A maid is right here," A voice they faintly recognised from last night floated down the corridor and Nancy came walking briskly towards everybody. "I will lead you all to the breakfast hall. Come with me." 

"If breakfast is as big as supper, I'm going to explode," Sheba muttered under her breath as they followed the sharply trotting maid. 

~*~*~* 

Breakfast was a pleasant affair. It was not eaten in the dining hall, but in a airy room with many windows that allowed light to filter in. Everybody sat around a table and were served with an imaginative platter of breakfast foods. Soft pastries with different tasty fillings, warm, lightly crisped toast, preserves, and fruit juices and milk to drink too. Garet again loaded his plate with food, but everybody else hardly ate anything since they were still somewhat full from the food. 

After breakfast, everybody was ushered into a new room where the Lord and Lady McLean were present. Lady McLean sat on a broad chair, but the Lord stood up and watched the guestsstanding in front of him, Felix standing at the head of the group with Kraden standing next to him looking excited as usual. Silence seemed to hang in the air like a heavy blanket and a couple of people coughed nervously. 

"Good morning," Lord McLean finally spoke, much to their relief. His hands were clasped and he stood straight in a formal manner. "I do hope that everything has been to your liking so far." 

"Yes, thank you," Felix quickly remembered everything he had been taught about good etiquette. "The food is very good and the facilities are excellent." 

"As they should be," Lord McLean critically eyed the bright-eyed group. "So, will you be staying for long or will you be continuing your travels to wherever it is you go?" 

"Go!" Sheba hissed under her breath, and Ivan agitatedly clamped a hand over her mouth, grinning disarmingly and trying to look innocent. Sheba glared at him and wrenched his hand down, but he tried his best to ignore her. However, she had got the message and resignedly kept quiet. 

"We were originally planning to continue the next day," Felix said guardedly, unsure of what decision to take. 

"Resting here for a while might be a good idea," Mia advised. "Since we have been doing a lot lately and rest will do us a lot of good." 

"But we should not stay for too long," Jenna added. "Since we have pressing duties." 

"We will stay," Felix said decisively. "Perhaps for a day or two." 

"Good," Lady McLean smiled. "We will do our best to keep you all entertained while you are staying here." 

Sheba involuntarily shuddered as she saw the Lady smile. It seemed like the smile of a fiendish beast that was about to strike without warning. And she was somewhat unsettled by what she had said. She appeared to be very pleased that they were staying. _But why?_

Isaac was quiet, dutifully listening to the conversation, but something was suddenly pulling at him and trying to drag his attention away. With mild irritation, Isaac turned to see that Garet was tugging his arm. He looked up at his friend questioningly. 

'I think I am going to be sick,' Garet whispered, his eyes bugging out in his desperation. 

"Excuse me," Isaac spoke up as politely as he could. "Garet and I wish to exit the room for a short while. May we be excused?" 

"Yes, you may," Lord McLean nodded civilly. Isaac thankfully walked out of the room with Garet hurriedly stumbling behind him and remembering to close the door as he left. 

As soon as they were out in the hall, Isaac looked around wondering where a bathroom was but then a sound behind him told him that it was too late. Rolling his eyes heavenwards, Isaac turned and watched the hulking Mars Adept emptying his stomach's contents onto the carpeted floor. 

"We told you not to eat so much," Isaac admonished him severely. "And now look what's happened. You know eating too much makes you sick." 

"Yeah," Garet coughed up some more bile and miserably wiped his mouth. "I'll try to remember that next time." 

"Um, I'll clean up that mess okay?" Lucy spoke up as she approached the two Adepts, looking at the pile of vomit with a slight expression of disgust on her face. "You two can return to what you were doing." 

"Okay," Isaac nodded. "We're terribly sorry." He hastily opened the door and walked back into the room, Garet following. This time however he forgot to shut the door, so Isaac had to double back and close it, beginning to feel a bit embarassed at this stage. Garet tried his best to look innocent as he resumed his position at the back of the group, ignoring the suspicious glares shot in his direction. Isaac discreetly stood at the back as well, acting as if nothing was wrong. 

"You chose a very good time to stay here," Lord McLean was speaking. "Tonight we are celebrating the anniversary of the marriage of Lady McLean and I, and we will be having a celebratory banquet and a musical performance. We would like to invite all of you to the celebration." 

"Wow!" Mia exclaimed in a hushed voice. "He's inviting us to a celebration!" 

"That's nice of him," Jenna commented quietly. "It would be rude to refuse." 

"I think we should go," Kraden immediately voiced his opinion in his usual overly enthusiastic manner. 

"Well, since we're here, I guess we should," Ivan shrugged although the thought of being present at a big celebration did excite him somewhat. 

"Okay," Felix nodded. "Thank you for the invite. We would love to go." 

'Except me,' Sheba thought. 'But then again I don't want to be left alone in this creepy place. Oh, when can we just go and light Mars Lighthouse?' 

"It sounds like its going to be fun!" Garet said loudly. "I can't wait!" 

"_Ssshhh!_" 

"Huh? What?" Garet looked around, his face creased up with the confusion he often felt. "What did I say this time?" 

"Pipe down, Garet!" Isaac hissed urgently. "You're making a noise!" 

"Noise?" Garet whispered back although he was somewhat loud when whispering. "What do you mean?" 

"You. Are. Talking. Too. Loudly," Isaac said with an effort. 

"Oh!" Garet immediately shut his mouth and tried to remember not to talk. 

"The celebration does not begin until the evening," Lord McLean resumed speaking once the room had quietened down. "For the day, you can do as you wish   
in the castle. There will be servants on hand to assist you if you need any help. Now, Lady McLean and I wish to speak, so I request you leave the room." 

"We shall see you this evening," Lady McLean did the alligator's smile again, flashing her pearly white teeth. 

Now that they were excused, the Adepts and Kraden turned and quietly left the room, closing the door behind them. Had one of them decided to turn back and look at the couple, they would have seen the two exchange a sinister grin. But since nobody decided to look back and see, nobody saw the secret look and so they did not know the danger they were facing. 

Even as they walked around the castle, exploring every nook and cranny they could find, they did not notice the watchful eyes staring through every crack, seeking them out. Unheard whispers floated through the corridors, brushing against them and seeping through every pore that could be found. The creaking of doors were guttural moans of the dying, the footsteps belonged not only to the exploring visitors, but to the unseen, unheard beings that tailed their every move. Yet nobody sensed it and as day passed, with lunch and afternoon, they all went back up to their bedrooms, unaware of the dangers of the castle that hung around them. 

When everybody arrived at the hall where the sleeping quarters were, there was already a maid they had not yet met waiting for them. 

"Hello," the maid spoke up, a skinny, pale woman with curly red hair and freckles dotting her skin. "The celebration will be beginning in a while. Please could you get changed? There are already clothes in the wardrobes, hopefully you should be able to find some that fit you. I will be out here in case you need me." 

"Clothes for US?" Garet was surprised. "That's..." 

"Weird?" Jenna supplied. "But I suppose we have to look our best for that celebration thing." 

Everybody promptly separated, going into their rooms. A quick search of the rooms revealed that every wardrobe was chock full of clothes. Not just any clothes either, they were made of expensive materials and amazed everybody. 

"Incredible!" Mia fondly ran her hands over a long blue silk dress and sighed dreamily. "I'm going to wear this one. I can't believe these people are going to such great lengths to please up, but I appreciate it. Hmm..." She placed the dress on her bed and then pulled open the door, looking both ways to see where the maid was, and then called for her. 

"Really?" Sheba approached the wardrobe and pulled out a velvet dress, a rich indigo colour, which she held up against her body and then looked at herself in the mirror. Then she noticed something very strange. Mia was standing at the door which she was holding ajar and she was talking... but Sheba could not see who she was talking to. Hesitantly, Sheba turned and what she saw almost made her scream. The maid was standing in the doorway and listening attentively to Mia. Slightly shaky, Sheba rechecked the mirror but the maid was not reflected in the glass. 

"What's the matter, Sheba?" Jenna leaned against the cupboard door. "Hurry up there, I want to pick a dress too." 

Sheba wordlessly looked up at her without saying anything, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open. Then she turned and quickly yanked the dress out of the wardrobe, hurrying to her bed and sitting down on it. Jenna shook her head and then started looking at the clothes on show, finally selecting a silky tan dress with a cream shawl to go over it. 

"Hah hah! Ivan's short!" Garet taunted, pointing at the Jupiter Adept with much mirth. 

"Shut up!" Ivan hissed through his clenched teeth. The cuffs of his dark green shirt almost reached his fingernails, and the dark blue trousers he had on were crumpled at the bottom as if his feet were trying to hold them back in vain. He looked somewhat messy and crumpled with his clothes a few sizes too large for him. 

"Just roll your sleeves and trousers up," Isaac suggested. "Nobody will notice." 

"I hope not," Ivan muttered as he did so. "I can't help being... smaller than most people!" 

"Midget," Garet teased, grinning widely at the short blond. "Ivan's a midget!" 

"Yeah, so?" Ivan stared at him, looking as if he couldn't care less. Garet stared back, amazed for some reason. 

Felix and Picard had no problems choosing their clothes either. Soon, everybody was ready, fully dressed for the banquet. Sheba did not tell anybody of what she had seen however. She was worried that people might not believe her, maybe they would mock her, and she could not bear that, so she kept her mouth firmly shut and remained quiet. 

The banquet was much bigger than last night's feast had been if possible. There were more people there too, important people such as Lord and Lady McLean, and friends of theirs also at the castle. The servants all worked hard, bustling around the table and pouring refills and delivering food. Ivan tried to sneak some rum for himself, but Mia caught him and severely admonished him by casting a gentle Douse on his head which nobody saw fortunately. So now Ivan had oversized clothes and wet hair but at least nobody was laughing at him so he could put up with it. Garet once again loaded his plate with lots of food, despite having already been sick today. He did not learn that easily and claimed that it was because he was very hungry. 

Once the feast was over, everybody was ushered out of the dining hall and into the theatre. It was a grand old room with a ring of comfortable seats that all looked down on a stage. On this stage musical instruments had been placed. A piano sat at one end, and an assortment of instruments at the other. A rack held flutes and similar instruments, even a saxophone that leaned against the rack was included. There were string instruments as well including a violin. By now everybody had pretty much guessed that it was going to be a musical performance as they sat down together, near the front where the view was much better than it would have been if they had opted for the back. 

Soon, all the people in the castle were sitting down, including the servants, and the torches were put out, save for torches fixed to the wall at the back of the stage, casting a warm glow over it. More people came walking onto the stage and picked up the instruments they chose to play. A hush fell over the audience as they watched. And then, the musicians began to play. 

A harmonious sound filled the hall, rising up to the ceiling and filtering through unseen cracks. It was a beautifully melodious sound, which sounded to many like an assortment of angels singing, such was that beautiful sound. Almost melancholy, yet with enough spirit to make it seem more upbeat. It was a mixture of happy and sad, with a jaunty tune to accompany it. The sound was like nothing the Adepts had heard before. They sat upright in their seats, listening attentively to the sweet sound that sounded in celebration of an anniversary. 

Sheba was feeling drowsy, yet she was not going to fall asleep, she would rather not. Her eyes were half closed, yet she still blearily watched the performance. And then, in her hazy drowsiness, everything seemed to changd. The sound was suddenly much more melancholy in her sleepy mind, a sad, mournful tune with the whispers of death underlying it. The people who played seemed to become more white and bony, and their skin and hair fell away, exposing their bones. Their eyes darkened, until they were nothing more than hollow sockets in their skulls. Yellow bones feebly clasped at the rusted instruments or clattered at the piano. Skeletal grins radiated up at the audience as the orchestra played the dance of death, with the mournful tune to accompany it. 

And thus, with a final flourish, a screeching wail to Sheba, a grand final note to the others, the performance was over. The musicians put their instruments aside and approached the edge of the stage, bowing to the applause that greeted them. When that was over, they filed off the stage and servants quickly relit the torches in the hall, restoring light so that everybody could see and find their way out. Everybody rose from their seats, there was a hubbub of voices, and somehow the Adepts and a sleepy old man soon found themselves back in their rooms, clad in pyjamas and straight to bed. Late had been the orchestra, and yet again everybody was fatigued. 

Mia was the last one into bed, making sure to brush her teeth and wash her face. Jenna and Sheba may have gone straight to bed but she could not stand to be unhygenic, despite her tiredness. One quick combing of her hair later, Mia examined her reflection in the mirror. Her expression was calm, not a smile or a frown, just a thin mouth and tired eyes. However, exhaustion did not prevent the young Water Adept from seeing the scariest thing she saw that night. Her reflection in the mirror smiled at her, mouth curving up to reveal pearly teeth, and one eye swiftly closed in a broad wink. Mia leaned forwards, stunned, her jaw wide open and her eyes wider than they had been previously. However, the mirror reflected her exact expression, the look of sudden fright and shock. Shuddering, Mia turned and fled out of the bathroom, straight to bed and crawled under her bedsheet, shuddering wildly. Soon, sleep claimed her. 

Isaac lay awake in bed, struggling against sleep, since he could hear a sound that unnerved him and he wished to listen to it longer for further clarity. It could not be Garet or Ivan snoring for he could hear them moving about in their beds and besides the sound was not a snore. It could not be talking either, nor was it footsteps. No, it was crying. It sounded like a piteous child's wail, a drawn out, high pitched sound that seemed to swell from the very bowels of the castle and gush forth, bombarding every being capable of hearing, submitting them to its power of sound. A child was crying, either from desperation or grief, a sad sound that made people wish to grieve, to cry along with it. 

Garet was again confused, but this time he had every right to be confused for it did not make sense. He did not hear what Isaac heard, a child's wail, but he heard laughter. It did not sound like friendly mirth, it sounded much worse than that. It sounded like the cruel laughter of a demonic being that was about to strike down a helpless being, an unforgiving, cruel beast. The laughter was cruel, mocking, a sound that wounded people who heard it. It sliced through the heart with a clean sweep, ringing in their brain, the last sound they heard before death came. But Garet could not understand why on such a nice night like this, somebody should be laughing like that. 

Ivan tossed and turned fretfully, unable to drop off to sleep. His face was contorted with anxiety and his hands were fiercely clamped over his ears, but it did nothing to block out that sound he heard. He did not hear the crying, he did not hear the laughter. Instead, Ivan heard screaming. Long blasting shrieks that carried on the wind, desperate cries, the last shout of somebody to be fallen or the screams of someone watching their loved ones die. Ivan curled up in a tight ball, wishing that the screaming would go away. It was as if the sound was embedded in his mind, but why was it, and who was screaming? 

Felix turned over in his bed, pulling the crumpled bedsheet up to his chin. He was now facing the door, yet he did not care, he just wished to go to sleep. His eyes closed shut and he waited, but sleep did not come. The room was silent, the Venus Adept heard nothing, but then he realised that something was breaking through that silence, a sound directed at him. 

_Felix..._

He heard his name whispered, carried to him on the still air, a sound he was not sure he knew. Still, Felix did not bother to open his eyes just in case. He wished to take no chances. 

_Open your eyes..._

Felix understood that he had been instructed to open his eyes, a strange request, but a request nonetheless. His brow furrowed in confusion and he wondered if he should do it anyway. Was it Picard, playing a prank on him? Did he hear it as well? 

_Open your eyes, Felix. Please, open your eyes..._

At last he submitted. The only thing that greeted Felix's line of vision was the inky darkness, a suffocating blanket of blackness that threatened to swallow, to enfold him in its clasp. Then something happened to change that illusion, a glowing aura sparking in the darkness, a fiery glow that surrounded a form... the form of a human child. Felix sat up, his deep brown eyes widening as he stared at the spectacle before him. He saw a young human girl standing in the room, a fire burning upon herself. Her eyes glowed with an orange light, her pupils did not show through, and her hands were clawed, wrinkled, like an old woman's. Her brow was lined with deep wrinkles and her mouth curved in a snarl. 

_You cannot escape..._

It was the girl speaking, he was sure of it, yet her lips did not move. Her silver streaked corn coloured hair flowed about her head akin to tentacles, and she took a step forwards, her fiery eyes flashing dangerously as she advanced towards the cowering Felix. He was scared of her, he did not understand what was going on, what she was going to do. But fortunately, Felix did not find out what she planned to do, for she erupted in a massive fireball and then disappeared, leaving the entire room in darkness. Felix collapsed onto his pillow, mild relief surging through his body, and he wondered what had happened just now and what was going on. He did not get time to ponder this thought however as sleep took him also. 

Jenna had seen Mia rush from the bathroom, a look of intense alarm on her face, and she had dived immediately into bed. Jenna wondered why Mia had done that, but figured that she might as well leave it until the morning to find out and snuggled further down beneath the bedsheets, turning towards the window. In that instant, she wished very much that she had not done so. For she saw through the window things that should have gone far beyond her realm of vision, she saw things that she should not have. She saw the castle walls themselves, monsters streaming through with weapons at the ready, with intent to kill, their eyes filled with fury and hate, their thirst for blood. She saw people dying, children crying in desperation and people screaming as they watched. Fire consumed the very building itself, reducing everything to cinders. The monsters plunged onwards, viciously slaying with each swing of their sword, laughing cruelly as innocent people fell to their might. Fortunately for Jenna, this vision did not last long, and once more she was looking at a window that was just a window, and only the dark, star studded sky could be seen. Her heart drummed rapidly against her ribcage as she wondered what she had seen. However, she too was compelled to slumber and she did. 

Picard was on the verge of slipping away to the land of dreams, but something was keeping him awake. He was not sure what it was that kept him awake despite his feeling of intense exhaustion, and he wished very much that it would depart and let him sleep. His hearing was sharpened to a point where he could hear nearly everything in that dark room, and he heard movement, but he knew it was just Felix moving around in his own bed. Picard gazed at the large window, looking at the rays of moonlight and starlight that filtered through to cast a dim, milky light upon the bedroom. His amber eyes moved downwards, and then his pupils dilated as he looked upon something that made him sweat. Blood, bright scarlet blood, was pooled up upon the white painted windowsill and it was dripping down to the carpeted floor below, creating a gruesome crimson puddle that seemed to stretch ruby tentacles out towards his bed. Picard shut his eyes tight in alarm, trying to pretend that it was not happening, his pulse quickening in terror. After a suspenseful moment of silence, the Lemurian dared open his eyes again, expecting to see the red liquid climbing up the side of his bed to ooze over him, but to his relief he saw no blood. He relaxed, thinking that it may have been a trick of the mind, and finally drifted off to sweet sleep.   


--- 

Hmm, very mysterious, is it not? But you will have to wait until the next update to find out is going on! 

Jenna: You're going to need maximum protection for this! 

Felix: Well, I'm not volunteering for bodyguard. 

Isaac: Remember, readers, if you wish for an update, then you have to review! 


	2. The Castle's Secrets

**A Memory Lost in the Mists of Time**

  
****

  


--- 

Ahh... and to think I started by writing this all at once... these chapters seem so short in comparison -_^ 

Felix: Short? o_O 

They look tiny in Netscape Composer... 

Isaac: Maybe youre the only person who uses Netscape Composer... 

Huh... -_- 

Ivan: And remember! Camelot owns Golden Sun! ^_^ 

--- 

~*~*~ 

_Chapter the Second___

_The Castle's Secrets___

~*~*~****

  
****

The next morning, nobody was in a state to have breakfast, everybody exhausted despite having slept. An emergency meeting took place between the Adepts, in Felix's bedroom. Kraden was still asleep, since nobody cared to wake him up. 

"So," Felix looked around at everybody, trying to figure out if they had all seen or heard such terror inducing things as he had. "Last night, I saw something very strange. There was this girl in this very room, she was on fire, and had the strangest eyes I have ever seen. She looked old and young at the same time too... somehow. And then she was just gone." 

"Scary," Jenna shuddered. "I think I would have died of fright from that. I saw this place burning up and monsters running around killing people. They killed children too. And then the vision was gone. It was horrifying." 

"Well, I saw something strange, but it could have been my mind playing tricks on me," Mia involuntary shuddered as she recalled what had happened to her last night. "I was in the bathroom looking at my reflection, and it _winked_ at me. It seriously smiled and winked at me but then my reflection was back to normal." 

"I saw blood," Picard got up and walked over to the windowsill, tracing over it with his index finger. "It was pooled up all around here, and then it was dripping down here," He knelt and touched the floor. "And then it started to run over to my bed..." Picard then got up and walked over to the bed in which he had slept last night and sat down on it. "And the blood then disappeared." 

"Last night," Sheba cupped her head in her hands as she thought intently. "The orchestra was kind of strange." 

"Strange?" Isaac looked at her. "What kind of strange do you mean? I didn't notice anything strange about it." 

"It could have been my tired imagination," said Sheba doubtfully. "But I'm sure it wasn't. The musicians... the people playing the instruments... they looked like skeletons to me. It was so vivid, so real. They were skeletons!" 

"Skeletons?" Ivan shivered. "That is really strange. And you saw them as skeletons, but not us..." 

"I didn't see anything last night," Isaac spoke. "But I heard something." 

"Heard what?" Felix asked. 

"I heard... crying," Isaac reminisced. "I heard crying. It was very loud, and very clear. It sounded like it could have been a child crying, although I'm not sure who it was or why they were crying. Did anybody else hear anybody crying?" Everybody in the room shook their heads no. 

"I heard something too!" Garet exclaimed as he suddenly remembered. "But I didn't hear crying like Isaac. I heard laughing. But it wasn't like when you laugh at me for falling over nothing, it was like Saturos and Menardi laughing before they became the Fusion Dragon or something." 

"Like evil laughter?" Jenna asked. Garet nodded enthusiastically. 

"Well, I didn't hear laughter and I'm sure nobody else did, and I bet nobody heard what I heard either," Ivan was quick to contribute. "I heard really awful screaming. I tried to block it out with hands over ears, but I just couldn't. It stayed in my mind, this horrible sound, over and over, screams and more screams." 

"I'm sure of one thing now," Felix folded his arms over his chest, looking serious. Everybody eagerly turned to look at him, wondering. "We have to go. This cannot just be coincidence..." 

"Finally, Felix!" Sheba exclaimed with glee written over her face. "I knew there was something funny about this place from the beginning..." 

"Something we didn't see," Mia pointed out. "Everything seemed fairly normal up until last night." 

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Jenna got to her feet and looked at everybody desperately. "We have to go! Now!" 

"You're right, let's go," Isaac copiously jumped up into a standing position, as everybody else started to do the same. "I'm sure that Lord and Lady McLean won't mind if we go without them knowing." 

"What makes you think they are even alive?" Sheba asked in an ominous voice. 

"Could we just get out of here first?" Picard asked with a slight hint of impatience in his voice. "Then we'll decide who's dead and alive, okay?" 

"Lets go!" Garet punched the air and then remembered something. "Oh, we've got to get Kraden up as well..." 

There was a mad scramble as the Adepts hurriedly rushed to the door, Ivan reaching it first and wrenching it open, almost sending Sheba flying, but she was quick enough to dodge it. They piled out into the hallway, only to discover that they were not alone. 

"Where are you going?" Nancy stood in the hallway, arms folded, and a curious smile on her face. She seemed to be trying to ooze calm, yet be imposing at the same time, a hidden threat. 

"We're going!" Garet shouted as if it should have been obvious. "Stay away from us!" 

"Kraden!" Isaac hammered on his door rapidly. "Kraden, get up!" The door swung open and an irritated old man stood in the doorway. 

"I am already up, Isaac," said Kraden in an exaggerated voice. 

"Going?" Nancy looked surprised. "Whatever are you talking about?" 

"Shut up!" Jenna shouted, furious at this new obstacle in their way. "You know perfectly well why we're going. Everybody does... you... you're all..." 

"Ghosts?" Mia suggested tentatively. At first sight she had thought that this maid was a friendly person, but now she looked dangerous, sinister, a towering, foreboding entity that swore not to let them escape. 

"Ghosts?" Nancy smirked, a smile tugging at her face. A creepy smile that made people shudder. 

"You're DEAD!" Ivan screamed, his voice ringing throughout the corridor like a gong, a roaring sound that faded away after a long time. 

"Dead?" Kraden was confused. "Now, Ivan, I do believe that you are being quite silly to suggest that this woman is dead-" 

"You're right." 

"Huh?" The Adepts looked at each other, horrorstruck. 

"Yes, I am," Kraden rattled on. "Ivan was quite silly. I can see perfectly well that you are not-" 

"I am dead," Nancy whispered, her voice sounding like dead leaves rustling against each other in a gentle autumn breeze. 

"Are you going to stop us leaving?" Picard asked, trying not to let even the slightest tremor creep into his voice. 

"It was two hundred and fifty years ago," Nancy avoided Picard's question, looking skywards. "Monsters stormed the castle, bringing fire and devilry with them. Their swords were terrible, and they left none alive. However, we are still here, a lost memory, forgotten by everybody. We are trapped in the mists of time, dead, and we have waited so long to lure the living here so that they too can join us. And you will be our first victims." 

"No!" Sheba screamed, clutching onto Felix's arm in terror. "We won't!" 

"You're just bluffing," Mia pointed her Nebula Wand threateningly at the ghost that was called Nancy. "You can't possibly stop us." 

"Perhaps not," Nancy's smile widened and her eyes flashed as she looked directly at the terrified group in front of her. "But the castle can!" 

"What?" Felix was incredulous. "It's... a building...!" 

"Have fun," Nancy grinned wickedly, her skin paling to a ghostly white and folding up into wrinkles that sagged visibly. "Run while you still can.. but you _cannot escape_!" 

"Take this!" Isaac shouted, leaping forwards, his body glowing with a bright golden aura. "GRAND GAIA!" 

The ground started to shake with violent tremors, and then a stream of golden lava shot up through the floor, sending chunks of rock and stone flying. Nancy screamed as she was engulfed in the lava, her bones scorched by the heat and reduced to ashes in the searing heat. The Psynergy spell ended, leaving a pile of ashes smouldering on the apparently unharmed floor. 

"I could have done that," Felix muttered, staring at the ancient ashes of a woman dead for two hundred and fifty years and counting. 

"Too bad I beat you to it," Isaac grinned, walking down the hallway. "Be quicker next time." 

"Sure I will!" Felix walked after him, quickening his pace. "First one to Grand Gaia next ghost we see into oblivion wins, last one's a rotten Venus Adept!" 

"If you go casting Grand Gaia like mad, you'll run out of Psynergy!" Jenna called after them, but they did not acknowledge her words. She sighed and walked after them, everybody else walking along with her. "Typical." 

"I wonder how this stupid castle can stop us," Garet wondered. "It's just a castle." 

"She was bluffing," Picard assured. "There's no way a building can stop-" 

As Picard spoke, everything seemed to change. The floor pitched and rolled, swelling to great heights and deflating with shivery tremors. The walls seemed to spin around and close in on them before swinging away. Kraden mysteriously disappeared without warning through a crack in the wall. Isaac was thrown off his feet and fell backwards, shouting in alarm. He promptly crashed into Garet and they landed on the floor. Felix dived and grabbed at the stone floor, although it seemed to crumble away under his grip and he found himself lying at the bottom of a staircase without warning. Jenna lost her balance and fell down a new corridor that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. Mia noticed and jumped after her since she was closest. Picard found himself moving away from everybody although he was still on his feet. He reached out in vain, and they vanished, for he was now in a new room he had not seen before. Ivan fell down into a deep empty expanse as a hole opened underneath him and he screamed as he fell for what felt like forever. Sheba saw this happen and without thinking, she jumped down the hole after Ivan, shouting his name as she fell. 

"IVAN!" Sheba screamed as she plunged through the darkness, feeling a draught sweep past her as she plummeted faster. "Ivan!" 

"Hellllllllp!" Ivan shrieked. His life flashed before his very eyes, as he dropped towards an unseen surface, not knowing where he would land but almost sure that the impact of it could kill him. 

"Ivaaaaan!" Sheba wished that she could make herself fall faster somehow so that she could grab Ivan but she could not see any way to make that possible. "I'm coming, Iv-" Her voice was cut off as she felt long tentacles wrap around her body, constricting around her and choking off her life. 

Ivan continued to fall, not knowing what had happened to Sheba. He landed in the arms of a familiar young girl who he had seen before. Ivan did not notice that he was in a new room, lit with torches, that he had not been to even when exploring the castle. Instead, Ivan was staring horrorstruck into the empty blue eyes of Lila. 

"_Hello, Ivan_," She greeted him with a harsh, grating voice and her embrace on him tightened. Ivan had no means of escape, being completely at her mercy. 

~*~*~ 

"Just where are we anyway?" Mia wandered down the stone corridor in frustration. She did not bother with stopping to look at the portraits which adorned the walls, thinking only of escaping the castle, and of everybody else who they had been separated from. 

"And where are everybody else?" Jenna walked behind her, looking anxious as if she expected a ghost to burst through the walls and try and kill her at any second. "I'm worried... the ghosts... they intend to kill us, don't they?" 

"It looks like it," Mia frowned. "Remember Nancy? She said we would be their first victims. I think that means that they are planning to kill us. It's kind of unnerving thinking that any minute now, something might appear and try and do just that, but if we're careful..." 

"We're Adepts, we'll be fine," Jenna reasoned, although she could not quite ignore the small feeling of doubt that pushed itself to the surface. "It's just scary that we're not sure what exactly we'll be up against. Ghosts may not be the only thing we'll have to fight." 

They continued to walk in silence, neither of them saying anything, as they seemed to wait with bated breath for whatever lay in wait for them. It was quiet now, albeit somewhat too quiet. It was as if a death knell had been sounded and now a respectful hush had fallen over the castle. However, the death had happened many years before, before even Picard himself was born, and the castle was supposed to be burnt down, but here they were, walking through its corridors, the castle that looked much as it had before the monsters came. 

The girls turned around a corner and stopped in their steps, for they had noticed something that made their blood run cold. The walls were soaked in a dark vermilion liquid, that trickled over the cold granite, seeping through the stone walls that it adorned. 

"What is that?" Jenna asked in disgust, stepping closer and reaching out, her fingers straying towards the garish red liquid. She had the faintest idea that she knew what this stuff was, but for some reason she just had to make sure that it was. 

"Don't touch it, Jenna!" Mia exclaimed in a panicked voice, her hand flying to her mouth. 

Jenna's hand recoiled in alarm, but it was too late, her fingers had already brushed against that disgusting fluid. She looked at her bright red fingers in horror, feeling the slimy texture ooze over her fingers, caressing her hand and reaching towards her arm. _Blood_. 

"M-Mia!" Jenna gasped, and she held out her arm. "Look!" The blood was definitely beginning to spread, running down her exposed arm. It was as if it wished to swallow Jenna up whole. 

"Oh no!" Mia looked fearfully at the bloodstained walls. "Come on, Jenna, we have to get out of here fast! Don't worry about the blood now, just _run_!" 

And so, the girls started sprinting frantically across the many winding corridors, desperate to escape and find their companions. Jenna could feel a throbbing pain in her hand and arm, it seemed that where the blood was it hurt inside but she bravely ignored it, not willing to stop a little pain stop her. 

~*~*~ 

Felix had two choices of direction now. He could go up the stairs behind him. At the top of the stairs he could see a wooden door that had been left ajar. Or Felix could go the other way down a dark hallway, which seemed devoid of light. He remained still, listening intently just in case. And then he heard it, a strange sound that seemed to be echoing eerily, bouncing off the walls towards him. It was coming from the dark hallway, a sound of creeping and slithering, and that could only mean that something was coming his way, coming from the dark corridor. And just what was that foul smell coming from the same direction? 

Felix decided that he certainly did not want to find out and bolted up the stairs, towards the innocent looking wooden door. His footsteps echoed in his ears as he sprinted up the stone stairs, his heart hammering against his ribcage in his anxiety. He had a feeling that somehow he had to be fast to reach the door in time, but in time for what? 

His foot barely came onto the top step when the door started to swing. 

"No!" Felix immediately launched himself into a dive but it only served to send him smacking to the cold floor with a loud impact sound. The door slammed shut, and he imagined that the sound of the door slamming shut was mixed with mocking laughter as if someone had trapped him there on purpose. Sighing, Felix got to his feet and grimly turned to see hordes of disfigured people marching towards the stairs. Their flesh was decaying, their eyes missing, and they emitted a rotten odor that nearly induced him to vomit. Felix withdrew the Sol Blade from its sheath and prepared to fight the zombies. 

~*~*~ 

"Where did everybody go?" Isaac stood fixed to the spot and looked around warily. He tried to understand what had happened but failed. It had just been too weird to explain. 

"Are we getting out or not?" Garet asked, sitting on the floor and looking mad. He was still a bit mad at Isaac for crashing into him like that, although it was not as if Isaac had planned to do that. 

"I am trying to figure out where everybody else is," Isaac said exasperatedly. "It's as if they disappeared into thin air. I think that it's like what the maid said, the castle is trying to stop us." 

"You're nuts," Garet muttered scornfully. "She was bluffing... wasn't she?" 

"Then where did everybody go?" Isaac turned to face him, folding his arms across his chest and giving him a haughty look. "There's no other way to explain that, is there? You saw it, Garet." 

"Yeah well, the floor was moving and there were holes appearing and everybody fell down them and such," Garet admitted that he had seen it. "But it sounds stupid! A castle that can do stuff!" 

"A castle that was burnt down more than two hundred years ago," Isaac paced back and forth as he talked. "People living in it who died when it burnt down. Ghosts... and a ghost castle... no wonder we never found it before, it was burnt down." 

"But how come we found it then?" Garet pounded the floor with a fist in irritation. Nothing was making any sense right now. 

"That ghost girl... she led us here," Isaac recollected. "Maybe there was some sort of... barrier around the castle that we had not been through before. Like..." 

"Like a mist?" Garet asked. 

"_We are trapped in the mists of time,_" Isaac recited. "That's what she said. Like... a mist that well, traps it... although I can't explain why it's not a burnt heap. It's like the mist has preserved it the way it was before it was destroyed but of course everybody is still dead. And it might only be there at night or something, and it's not like we're often out in the open at that time of night anyway. That girl lured us here, into the trap." 

"Damn," Garet's face contorted in rage. "How could we be so foolish, so easily led? I knew that everything was too good to be true!" 

"I don't remember you saying that," Isaac teased. "But we should try and get out of here. Come on, we've got to go." 

"Alright," Garet got to his feet and looked around wonderingly. "Which way do we go, Isaac?" 

"Uh, we should go this way, I think," Isaac started walking. "The way we were going before all that weird stuff happened." 

"Okay, lead on!" Garet walked briskly behind his companion. "Hey, Isaac?" 

"What is it?" Isaac called back as they rounded a corner and progressed down a stone corridor with wide holes in the outer wall that acted for windows. The morning light shone through, illuminating portraits on the opposite wall. 

"Have you got any food rations on you?" Garet asked nervously. "It's just that... we didn't have breakfast..." 

"Nope," Isaac shook his head. Garet grumbled under his breath, something that Isaac did not hear. But he imagined it might be about him and decided it might not be safe to ask Garet what he had just said. 

_Isaac... Garet..._

"Did you hear that, Isaac?" Garet stopped in his tracks and glanced around, wondering who had just said that. It sounded like someone was whispering to them but he could not see who was whispering. 

"I heard it, Garet," Isaac confirmed, frantically looking both ways and thinking that it might be a sneak attack. 

_I am here... Right here..._

"AAH!" Garet jumped and pointed, his arm shaking. "Look! A ghost!" 

"What?" Isaac saw what Garet was pointing at and stiffened. A woman that they had not seen before stood at the end of the hallway. She was tall and slim with a dark crimson dress that covered most of her body, black shoes, and an elegant black cape tied around her neck. Her nails were long and painted black. Her hair fell down in long bouncy chestnut waves and her large eyes were rimmed with red. She gave Isaac and Garet the creeps naturally. 

"Stay away!" Garet shouted, his hand straying towards his sword. "You're a ghost!" 

_Listen to me..._

It was clearly the woman speaking, yet her dark red lips did not move. Her brown eyes seemed to pulsate with an inner aura and she took a deliberate step towards the two Adepts. 

"If you're asking for a fight, we'll give you one," Isaac threatened boldly. "You won't get a chance to hurt us." 

_Look into my eyes..._

'What?' Isaac stared at the woman, dumbstruck. And then his confusion changed to horror as the brown gaze locked with his blue eyes. He seemed to melt away, his soul trapped and its will being sapped away. He was rooted to the spot, unable to even blink. Garet found himself in the same position as well. The woman looked directly at the vulnerable Mars Adept, grinning slyly. 

_Fall for me..._

Isaac did not hear those words. Garet however did. The woman swiftly glided to the windows and climbed up onto the windowsill, balancing precariously. Garet also started to walk towards another window, walking slowly and stiffly and he also clambered up onto the windowsill. Isaac watched helplessly, unable to do anything. He tried to break free, to shout, but he could do nothing... 

And then, in an instant, they were both gone... Isaac was alone... 

"No!" Isaac shouted, his will restored. He immediately sprang into action and rushed to the window, looking down. All he could see was a fine mist below, shrouding the ground down below. Isaac's jaw set in determination and he climbed onto the stone sill, swinging one leg over. 

'I have to go down,' Isaac gripped the sill tightly with his hands. 'I must climb down and make sure that Garet is alright!' 

And so, Isaac began his slow and dangerous descent down the castle wall. 

~*~*~ 

Picard was also utterly alone, and he had no clue where he had ended up. He was in a strange room which was circular in shape with portraits adorning the wall. There was but one door in the room, propped open. A chink of sunlight filtered into the room, allowing Picard to see. Since nothing of interest was happening in that room, and for that he was thankful, he hurriedly rushed through the door into a corridor. This corridor he had also not seen and that frustrated him. 

"Hello?" Picard called desperately in the hope that somebody might hear and come to help him. He was lost and alone in a creepy castle full of ghosts and he could not help feeling a bit edgy about the whole thing. 

_Picard..._

"Who's there?" Picard asked as he heard the whisper. He shivered involuntarily, staring down the hallway as if he was expecting something to turn around a corner and come towards him. 

_Me..._

"Huh?" Picard sensed that the sound seemed to be coming closer, yet if it was not coming towards him then it had to be... no, it couldn't be, hadn't the room been empty when he left it? And there had only been one way out. But then again these were ghosts after all. The agitated Lemurian turned around slowly and rapidly took several steps backwards in shock. His worst fears had been confirmed, he had nearly been hit by a sneak back attack without seeing anybody. 

Something was walking slowly and deliberately towards him. It seemed to have the form of a human but that was all he could make out. It had a strange luminous glow around it, a bright white aura, like a light in the shape of a person. No features could be made out, not even the distinguishing features between man and woman. It was also somehow difficult to make out the size of it as well, he could not tell if it was a child or adult. 

"What are you?" Picard demanded, rapidly drawing the Excalibur sword from its sheath and pointing it threateningly at the spectre. 

_What would you like me to be?_

"Huh?" Picard almost dropped the sword as he heard its strange question. "What do you mean?" 

_Let me show you, Picard..._

"..." Picard was even further stunned if that was possible for in an instant the spectre had assumed the form of Felix. Then it changed to Jenna, and next he was staring at what looked like Sheba. Realisation and horror began to dawn on him. 

_Now do you see?_

"Hah, change your shape?" Picard's voice shook slightly and he tightened the grip on his sword. "That's all you can do? Then this is going to be an easy task." 

_But could you kill... yourself?_

"Oh no, that's pushing it," Picard glared at his double. "Nobody tries to impersonate me and get away with it!" He tensed, prepared to do battle, even if the spectre looked exactly like him. He would not let that faze him, he would fight like a strong and brave warrior, which he was. 

~*~*~ 

"Unnh..." Sheba choked out as she tried to wriggle free of the deathgrip wrapped tightly around her body. She was barely able to turn her head but it was so dark, she could not see, but something was there, holding her in its tentacles of deaths. Her jaw set in determination and her body started to glow with the aura of Psynergy. A few stray tentacles that were strangling her was not going to stop her casting Psynergy. Fierce lightning bolts shot down, raining hard upon the monster that was holding Sheba. She was satisfied to hear a shriek of pain and relieved as the grip on her loosened slightly, allowing her to thankfully gulp in large amounts of precious air. 

Next thing she knew, she and the creature were plummeting skywards. Sheba hung on grimly, hoping that she would not land underneath the unidentified object. She hoped that Ivan would be alright, even after falling down so far. The air whistled past the worried Jupiter Adept and she closed her eyes shut, her fingernails digging into the rough skin of the creature. Sheba did not want to die, not yet, but the castle seemed to be trying to kill them. She was determined to survive, no matter what. 

'What about Ivan?' 

Sheba shivered and pushed the thought out of her mind, keeping it completely blank as she waited for the impact which was surely inevitable. 

~*~*~ 

"So sweet, so darling," Lila cooed as she stroked the pale cheek of the unconscious, limp Ivan. He ws lying on the floor, having fainted when he found himself in her clutches. A mad smile played upon the dead girl's face as she looked at Ivan. "You're mine, yes mine," she purred, kneeling next to him and brushing back his blonde bangs, leaning over and brushing her lips over his smooth forehead. "I want you, and I will have you. Forever." 

Lila got to her feet and looked around warily, her sky blue eyes flickering back and forth. Her gaze fell upon an object and her face lit up with glee. The thing Lila had seen was a sword propped up against the wall. The blade was sharp, gleaming silver with a hilt embedded with coloured stones and an intricate carving etched into the wood. It would serve its purpose. She hurriedly scampered over, grasping it in her icy hands and clutching it tightly, lifting it off the ground. Lila performed a few expert swings with the sword to test it out. She was satisfied, so she slowly and deliberately walked over to Ivan. Her mouth was lifted in a macabre grin, her frozen lips a bright crimson red which added to the spookiness of it all. 

"You are mine," Lila repeated as she stood over the vulnerable body, raising the sword slightly. "You shall be with me forever in death!" Her gleaming white teeth showed, the corners turning all the way up, in a freakish clown like smile and she raised her arms, the point of the sword turned towards Ivan. "Now you will die, my beloved!" 

~*~*~ 

'Dang, these zombies are actually pretty tough for dead people!' Felix was already beginning to feel slightly tired as he hacked his way through the hordes of zombies. They were constantly grabbing at him, reaching out for him, but he was much quicker, slicing through them with the Sol Blade. It was a trusty sword and had not yet failed him, so he was still alive for the moment. The brave Venus Adept continued to hack and slash, wondering when this was end. As he chopped through, he was moving further up the passageway, although he could not see what lay ahead. He hoped though that it was not going to be even more zombies. They were foul enough as it was with their rotting flesh and rank smell that he was unsure of how much more he could possibly stand. 

Time seemed to last forever, so Felix was overjoyed when it finally seemed that the last zombie had succumbed to the sword's strikes, collapsing into the bloodied pools of his comrades. He did a quick check of the area, making sure that none of the zombies had decided to get up again, but it seemed that he had exhausted all the fight left in them. His job done, Felix slipped the Sol Blade back into its scabbard and walked further down the hall, before reaching a new door. There were no other ways out, it seemed, so Felix resignedly gripped the doorknob and twisted sharply, pulling it open. 

As soon as he had pulled it open, Felix immediately wished that he had just run back and seen if the door back there had been unlocked instead. 

~*~*~ 

"Unnh..." Jenna suddenly fell to her knees in mid run. The impact with the cold stone pained her but she barely noticed it. She felt that she just could not go on any longer, an inner pain was swallowing her whole, tiring her. Everywhere she saw red, bloodstains splattering over the floor, even on her person. 

"Jenna?" Mia stopped and turned around, her face contorted with worry, looking at her companion. She immediately looked horrorstruck as she saw just how bad Jenna had become. She was covered in dark red blood that ran rivulets over her ash white skin. Her eyes were dark, filled with pain and weariness. Mia bit her lip. "You... you're bleeding!" 

"I..." Jenna coughed and a gob of red liquid flew onto the grey tiles. Her mouth felt slimy, and she wanted to be sick, but she was just far too tired to vomit, too tired to do anything. She was nearly too tired to talk. "Can't..." 

"Can't what?" Mia kneeled next to her, trying to ignore the blood that pooled around Jenna. "Talk to me, Jenna!" 

"Can't... go... on..." Jenna turned away, squeezing her eyes shut. Red tears seeped out from under her blue-veined eyelids, leaving pink trails. Her body convulsed and she retched, loud hawking sounds which shook her fragile seeming form. She was afraid of what was happning to her, did not know what was happening, and had no idea what exactly it was that was happening. She was tired, losing blood yet she was not wounded. 

"We have to get out of here!" Mia insisted. She closed her eyes and concentrated, a blue aura pulsing around her. Her hands glowed with the same blue light and it seemed to travel over to Jenna, as Mia cast Pure Ply on her, the strongest of the Ply spells. After casting it, Mia waited expectantly to see if Jenna had improved. She could not help feeling disappointed to see that none of the blood had gone away and it looked as if Jenna was still bleeding freely. 

"N...o... g...o...o...d..." Jenna sagged, almost falling forwards into the scarlet fluid. Mia quickly grabbed her and pulled her to her feet, not paying heed to the liquid dripping onto her robes. 

"Well, I'm not leaving you here!" Mia slung Jenna's trembling arm around her shoulders, using her arm to support her. "You're coming, like it or not." She grimly started walking, using all her strength to carry Jenna along as well. The female Mars Adept went limp in Mia's grasp and Mia realised that she had fainted. She quickened her pace. Her robe was turning red but she did not care, just as long as she could get out with Jenna, and they could find everybody else. They had to get back together again and go and save the world. There was no other option. But she understood that Jenna's situation was very risky for her, since if she lost all her blood, then she was very likely to die. Mia shuddered and tried not to think about it, focusing solely on her goal. 

~*~*~ 

'This... is... difficult!" Picard stepped back quickly, dodging the swing of a twin Excalibur. His doppelganger was exactly like him. Just as slow, just as strong, and with the same Mercurian Psynergies he possessed. It was a very difficult fight and they were evenly matched. Picard swung the Excalibur time and time again, but he never seemed to meet his target. Using Psynergy was useless, since Picard only had Water Psynergy and possessed a high resistance to his own element. 

"Face it, you cannot beat me!" His clone laughed heartily, swinging the twin Excalibur and narrowly missing, although not seeming too fazed by having missed his target. 

"Ah, but you can't beat me either!" Picard retorted. An idea flashed in his mind and he grinned confidently, casting Douse upon his opponent and creating a large puddle just underneath him. 

"Useless," The shapeshifter scoffed as he looked at the water glistening underneath him. "That was merely a weak taste of what you can do. If that's the best you can do, then that might just make it even easier after all." 

"Don't get too cocky," Picard responded swiftly and then he cast Frost Psynergy directly on the pool of water. Swirling snowflakes flew towards the water and it immediately shot upwards into an icy pillar. As he expected, the shapeshifter was now standing upon the frost pillar. 

"You think you have me trapped?" scorned the ghostly shapeshifter, his face hardening. "Hopeless!" He tensed and leapt off, his aquamarine hair flapping behind him as he lunged towards Picard. 

Picard acted quickly, stepping back just an inch and holding the Excalibur out in front of him. The clone had his Excalibur drawn too as he bore upon Picard. 

And the Excalibur met its target. 

The blade plunged swiftly into the muscled torso, ripping apart the blue fabric. Precious life fluid blossomed on the Lemurian garments, and the struck one looked down in horror at his wounds, before his yellow eyes rolled upwards and he collaped, barely noticing the blade being drawn out of him. 

Picard shuddered as he watched his doppelganger lying on the floor, looking as if it was dying. 'Don't be ridiculous, it's already dead,' he reasoned, turning away and resheathing his Excalibur. He strode off down the corridor, somewhat shaken by what he had seen. Behind him, the shapeshifter dissipated and where it had lain, there was nothing, only a pool of crimson fluid and next to that, a melting pillar of ice. 

~*~*~ 

Isaac was definitely not enjoying himself. The castle wall was rough and slippery. Each gap in the wall seemed to take several hours to fnd as Isaac clung on for dear life, moving his legs until he found a suitable place to support him. He hardly dared look down in the fear that it might surprise him and he would wind up falling to his death. 

His foot suddenly slipped and Isaac gasped audibly, tightening his grip on the stone and hurriedly placing his foot back where it had been. It would not do to be thinking about the risks, it was far too distracting. Isaac moaned softly and rested his cheek against the cold stone. It was so bitterly cold. The wind swept past him, causing him to shiver occasionally. He was in danger of freezing to death or falling, and it was not such a good situation. 

'Come on, Isaac' Isaac spoke mentally to himself as he felt around with a stiff hand to locate a suitable handhold. 'You can do it. You have to go and see if Garet is alright. We have to get out of here alive, we need to save Weyard. Don't let yourself down.' 

Isaac cautiously slithered down the wall, faintly hearing a loosened pebble skittering down. He wondered how much further there was to go. He was tired, cold and somewhat scared, as well as worried. The only thing that was keeping him going was his determination. Isaac never just gave up so easily. He was a proud warrior, and warriors never let people down, especially their own friends. Isaac nervously chewed on his icy lip and accidentally bit too hard, drawing blood. He ignored it though, continuing his slow descent. His heart drummed rapidly against his ribcage, sounding audibly in his ears, a fierce roar that Isaac could not block out. His breath came out in short gasps since he was so tired from the stress of having to climb down. All it would take was a quick slip of his frozen fingers and he could plummet down into the mists below. Isaac bleakly huddled against the wall, his golden scarf flapping wildly in the harsh wind. 

A stray gust was all it took. Isaac's fingers were wrenched off the wall, and his body went rocketing backwards, his legs helping to propel him off the wall. The wind stole his breath away and he could not even scream as he fell down into the mists. 

~*~*~ 

Sheba could taste coppery blood in her mouth and she hurriedly spat it out onto the floor before it could choke her. She looked around and sighed in relief, crawling into a sitting position and rubbing the places on her body where she had landed. The monster had hit the surface first, with Sheba on top of it, then the Jupiter Adept had bounced off it and smacked onto the floor. Luckily for Sheba, she was unharmed, so she hurriedly got to her feet and started running. She had to look for Ivan, to make sure that he was alright. 

Sheba burst into a room that was lit with torches and what she saw in the centre of the room almost made her heart stopped. There was Ivan, lying unconscious on the floor, and a girl standing next to him with a sword that was about to drop towards its target. 

And then the sword plunged down towards the vulnerable Ivan, aiming for his heart. 

"Noooooo!" Sheba broke into a run, her hand outstretched. "IVAN!" 

The sword stopped in mid air and was released, clattering to the ground. The girl contemptuously kicked it aside and turned around to look at Sheba, her eyes radiating intense hate. 

"Lila," Sheba spat with equal disdain, coming to a stop and glaring at her. "You... I won't let you kill Ivan!" 

"How sweet of you to come," Lila snarled, her voice heavy with sarcasm. "A little bit too early for my liking. Just a few more seconds and Ivan and I would have been together in death... forever." 

"You're the one who lured us here," Sheba's emerald eyes narrowed and she clenched her fists tightly. "I never trusted you from the start and I was right! You're just a ghost. I'm going to get rid of you right now, once and for all!" 

"So cute," Lila tittered, her sapphire eyes glinting dangerously. "But maybe we should play a little game first." 

"A little game?" Sheba would have read her mind to figure out what Lila was talking about, but she was too angry and shocked about how close Ivan had come to being killed that she was not in much position to think. "What?" 

"Watch," Lila clapped her hands and did a pirouette which sent her spinning to the opposite end of the room. There she stood, grinning ominously at the perplexed Sheba. Sheba blinked and looked around, wondering what exactly Lila was up to. She knew she was up to something, this kind of girl was always up to something. A sneaky, devious liar... and also dead. 

Ivan shivered and twitched, flopping over onto his side. His eyes were still closed, but at least he appeared to be regaining consciousness. His pale skin retained a slight flush and his lips parted, allowing a soft moan to escape from his body. 

"Ivan?" Sheba ventured hopefully. "Ivan! You're awake?" 

Ivan did not say anything as he crawled into a kneeling position, eyes still tightly shut. He slowly stood, his blond bangs falling into his eyes so that Sheba could not tell if he had opened them yet or not. Ivan's movements were slow and sluggish, albeit strange. He seemed to have adopted a strange staggering gait as he took a step towards her. Ivan's head lifted up and his eyes were revealed. Sheba could immediately tell something was wrong. His jet black pupils had been completely engulfed by purple irises, giving him a strange appearance. 

"Ivan!" Sheba exclaimed, taking in his odd expression. He looked blank, as if he was not feeling anything. "What have you done to him?" The question was directed at Lila, she knew that Lila had to have done something to Ivan. 

"Just a little game," responded Lila in a singsong voice, her mouth twisted in a ghoulish grin. 

Ivan did not speak as he stared straight at Sheba with blank, dead eyes. His hand flew to the hilt of the Masamune and clutched tightly around it. Ivan jerkily pulled it out of its sheath and pointed it at the alarmed Wind Adept. 

"What?" Sheba stepped back, staring at the Masamune, horrorstruck. "You... how could you? You turned him against me!" 

"That's right," Lila clapped her hands as if applauding Sheba for her guess. "It's a fight to the death, unless you're just going to let him kill you. Then I shall kill him. If you can actually bear to kill him, then I'll just kill you. Either way, you lose." 

"No way," Sheba shook her head furiously. "If you're going to do that, then I'm just going to have to defend myself!" 

Ivan began to sprint towards Sheba, blade of the Masamune directly aimed at her. A clang sounded as the Masamune met with the Tungsten Mace. The fight between the Jupiter Adepts had begun.   


--- 

You're... going to kill me... for the cliffhangers, aren't you? 

Sheba: Oh yes, we certainly are! >=) 

Not you, the angry readers... 

Garet: Them? 

Yes, Garet, THEM. 

Jenna: You know the drill! Review or you'll wind up blue! 


	3. Discovery of the Curse

**A Memory Lost in the Mists of Time**

  
****

  


--- 

Eep! Whew... I am still alive... 

Mia: You should consider yourself lucky for that. 

Yeah... 

Ivan: Are you trying to be Queen Cliffhanger? 

Nah, Griffinkhan's already received that honour. 

Felix: Camelot owns Golden Sun! =D 

--- 

~*~*~ 

_Chapter the Third___

_Discovery of the Curse___

~*~*~   
  
  
  
  
  


Felix had been unlucky enough to encounter a giant of a beast, a ten foot tall behemoth. It bellowed loudly, a booming war cry that seemed to shake the foundations of the room, and thrashed its long, tapering tail ridged with spines that travelled along its back before becoming tufts of hair poking up on its cranium. Its dark indigo skin rippled with underlying muscles as long neglected limbs flexed experimentally. Large claws protruded from its feet and hands, and its bright green eyes were fixed directly on the surprised Venus Adept. It had a long muzzle which ended in a shiny black nose and rows of gleaming teeth with sharp points. The monster stood proudly on its feet, its arms bunched up at its side as it prepared to battle. 

"Oh no..." Felix gulped as he took in the creature's appearance. To him, it seemed bigger than the Fusion Dragon. "Um, I took a wrong turn," he said hesitantly, unsure of how the monster might react. "Sorry to disturb you, I'll leave now?" 

However, the monster did not seem very pleased that Felix was considering leaving it alone. Its long coiled tail immediately uncurled and actually wrapped around the perimeter of the room. If Felix wanted to leave the room, he was going to have to climb over its giant tail and that would require turning his back on the enemy and the thought of doing that was not pleasant. 

"You want to fight?" Felix could not help feeling disappointed since he would rather have fought this hulking fiend with some help not completely alone as he was right now. "Fine then, if I have to, then I'll try my best." 

The monster struck first, launching its hand at him and sinking its claws into the stone floor, causing deep pits and rivulets. Felix narrowly dodged and cursed under his breath. It was fast and the size of its claws made the Sol Blade look the size of a toothpick. 

"Nice try," Felix gasped, pushing his raven hair out of his eyes. "But now it's my turn. Grand Gaia!" 

The ground shook wildly and chunks of stone flew upwards as golden fire surged forth, ripping through the ogre. Shards of flying rock and stone struck him, bouncing off and leaving red weals. And then it was over. However, the monster was still up and looking intensely furious. It gritted its teeth and swung its hand at Felix again. 

This time, Felix was not so lucky. The point of a claw grazed him and he went flying into its rough tail, wincing as he felt the pain of impact. He looked nervously at his wound and was somewhat relieved to see that it was not too serious. "P-Potent Cure!" Felix wheezed and the golden aura of his healing Psynergy washed over him, healing the wound. Felix got to his feet and looked scornfully up at the monster. 

The monster bellowed and struck again, but Felix narrowly dodged it and stepped back, racking his brains for the next step to take. 

"Petra!" Felix called out the name of one of his djinn. "Aid me with your power!" 

Petra, the Venus Djinni, appeared in the sky with a burst of golden light which projected from it and shone directly on the fiendish creature. The light changed from gold to grey and then Petra disappeared. The monster appeared to be stone for a second, but that was soon over and it was frozen in place. 

Felix could run, or he could carry on fighting. Something that somebody had once said to him came to mind. 

_A wise man knows to flee from battle when he is injured._

Felix was not injured, but since he was alone and if he continued to fight this fiendish, gigantic creature, he could end up very badly wounded with no means of escape and he could even die if he continued. It would be reckless to do so. Making his mind up, Felix hurriedly turned and clambered over the frozen tail, rushing out of the room and charging back the way he had come, stumbling over corpses that lay in his way. He gasped for breath as he rushed up the stairs and slammed into the wooden door. To his immense joy, the door gave way and fell over. 

A thunderous roar sounded. It sounded like an angry creature which had just lost its quarry. Felix fled for safety. 

~*~*~ 

Mia walked steadily onwards, holding tightly onto Jenna whom she was now carrying on her back. She seemed to have become very light and Mia was worried that it was due to the loss of blood. Fortunately, Jenna seemed to have stopped bleeding now and Mia was relieved, but she was still unconscious. Mia was also very disappointed that her Mercurian healing spells had no effect on Jenna's strange condition. 

_Mia..._

"Who's there?" Mia stopped in her tracks and glanced around cautiously. In front of her, a human form silhouetted in a bright light appeared. Mia took a step back, eyeing it with suspicion. It was a ghost, it had to be to have appeared out of nowhere like that, but what did it want? 

_Mia... Look at me..._

The light faded away to reveal... Mia did not see, for she had immediately locked her gaze with a pair of warm brown eyes. Now she was lost in a vast ocean, her mind seemed to have disappeared altogether, as she moved at the will of the ghost, marching forwards with brisk steps. Had she been able to see for herself, she would have seen herself precariously teetering on a sill. She would have seen the misty expanse rushing up to meet her. 

Jenna's head pounded, pain erupting inside it. Her eyes creaked open a fraction of an inch. Her vision was blurred, but she could see Mia walking away without her, leaving her lying on the ground outside the castle. Her mouth moved, yet the movement was so faint that it could easily have been missed. 

"Mi...a..." Jenna mouthed, willing sound to come out, but she could not even hear her own voice. "Mia..." 

Mia was in a trance, not caring where she walked, barely realising what she was doing. She did not know that she had just jumped out of a window, she did not know that she had just left her friend behind and walked off, she knew nothing. She heard nothing, nothing to distract her from her enchanted daze. A dreamy smile lit up her face, her eyes gleaming with a radiant glow. 

Jenna groaned softly, the only sound she could make at the moment. Her fingers twitched and then her hand glowed with a red light, which spread to the rest of her body. Fortunately, her Cool Aura spell she had barely been able to cast worked its healing magic on her, restoring her vitality and cleansing away the blood. Jenna scrambled to her feet and shouted with considerable effort. "MIA!" 

Mia stopped in her tracks, the sound having broken her out of her reverie. She swiftly turned towards the sound and was stunned to see Jenna standing there, looking fit and healthy. Mia grinned happily and ran back towards her. 

"Jenna!" Mia exclaimed, holding her and looking at her, clearly stunned. "You're... you're okay!" 

"Yeah," Jenna shrugged with a half hearted smile. "I'm not sure how, but I woke up and I was able to use my healing Psynergy and it worked for some reason. Perhaps it's something to do with being outside of the castle..." 

"Outside of the castle..." Mia looked up at the large stone building and her eyes widened. "How did we get out? I... didn't I jump? How... the ghost... it was as if it put me into a trance..." 

"What's with this thick mist?" Jenna grumbled. "I can hardly see anything! I don't remember seeing a mist before..." 

"I wonder if anybody else has escaped the castle," Mia wondered hopefully. "Although I don't get why we were allowed to escape." 

"I'm sure we'll find out soon," Jenna started walking. "Anyway, lets go and have a look round." 

"Okay," Mia followed, looking around carefully in case anybody else was outside. 

~*~*~ 

"Unng... you're fast," Sheba grunted as she swung her mace time and time again. "But I'm just as fast as you are!" 

Ivan did not say anything as he swung the Masamune, trying to strike his best friend down without knowing what he was doing. He had not said anything for the duration of the battle. It was as if he was still asleep and this was just like sleepwalking. He moved swiftly and skillfully, lunging and stabbing, only for each move to be parried with the Tungsten Mace. Sheba was defending herself, she did not wish to hurt Ivan. It was not Ivan who was doing this, it was Lila controlling him and trying to kill her through him. 

"Give up, Lila, this is not going to work!" Sheba spared a second to shoot a dirty look at her, then she turned her head and was alarmed as the Masamune came dangerously close to her face, swinging past and clunking hard against her mace. Her grip loosened in her shock and another swing of the sword sent it clattering to the ground, rolling a metre away from her. 

"You seem to have dropped your weapon," Lila said cattily with a devious smirk. 

"NO!" Sheba tried to reach for it but Ivan ploughed into her, knocking her into the ground. The point of the blade hovered at her neck and she gulped, her eyes crossing as she looked down at it. She was being pinned down and she was unable to reach for her mace, it was just out of reach of her fingers. Sheba's eyes swivelled up and she looked directly at Ivan, who had a snarl on his face. His teeth were clenched and his pupil-less eyes seemed to bore into her. 

"Ivan... don't!" Sheba flung out a hand and her palm connected with Ivan's forehead as she cast Mind Read. She immediately shot into Ivan's mind, exploring every corner of it, breaking through the weak defences. She desperately tried to communicate with him telepathically, using their Jupiter skills to aid her. 

_Ivan! Wake up!_

Ivan twitched and jerked, falling sideways off Sheba and slumping to the ground. The sword fell by his side and he stared rigidly up at the ceiling. Sheba panted and moved over onto her side, thankfully grasping the mace. Still holding it, she crawled over to Ivan and examined him. His eyes moved towards Sheba and she was relieved to see that they had reverted to normal. 

"S...h...e...b...a..." Ivan spoke softly, his mouth moving slowly, so it seemed as if he enunciated each letter. He looked worried about something, perhaps he thought he might have hurt her. 

"Hey, Ivan," Sheba smiled with intense relief. "How are you feeling?" 

"NO!" Lila screamed, stamping her foot on the floor childishly. Her face was reddened with rage and scrunched up, her mouth opening in a large hole as she screamed. "You broke my control! How could you!" 

"I'm... fine..." Ivan responded, his mouth curving into a similar smile. "And you?" 

"I'm okay," Sheba assured him. "Ivan, we have a problem and its name is Lila. Want to help me?" 

"Sure thing!" Ivan exclaimed, scrambling to his feet with surprising agility. He picked up the Masamune and the two Jupiter Adepts stood side by side, clutching their weapons and facing Lila. 

"Playtime's over," Sheba growled, tightening her hands around her weapon and tensing. "It's time to stop acting like a coward and fight." 

"Sheba..." Ivan glanced at her then back at Lila. "Don't be too violent, she's only a stupid little girl who tries to kill people and uses them against their friends. I should have known you could not be trusted, Lila, that you were luring us into a trap, but in the face of danger we were a bit too trusting, except Sheba. Now what do you have to say for yourself?" 

"I..." Lila bit her lip and looked guilty, like a child who had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. "I'm sorry..." Her voice came out as a low-pitched whine, and it was difficult to tell if she was being honest or not. 

"You led us here to trap us," Sheba spoke, trying to keep her voice calm despite the anger she felt towards the young, dead girl. "You're the reason we're caught in this deathtrap. Why? Why did you bring us here, why does everybody want us to stay, to _die_?" 

"We're so lonely," Lila spoke in a mournful voice. "We're stuck here in death forever, and it's been so long since anybody who was alive came here. And once they come, we want them to stay there forever, then they want to leave! You were going to leave and we didn't want you to... we're dead... it's not fair! IT'S NOT FAIR!" Large tears rolled down her pale face and she burst into hysterical tears. 

"Just a poor little ghost who's stuck on the face of this world," Ivan said with pity. "This place... it's like it's stuck in time somehow, like a curse. They are yearning for the living, jealous even... because they are dead and we're not." 

"But isn't there some way you can break... this curse?" Sheba asked. "What is it that's causing this? Causing you to be stuck here?" 

"I don't know!" Lila hiccuped through her tears, her sobs rising to an audible wail. "But I think it's something to do with that stupid mist! It wasn't there... when we were alive!" 

"The Mist?" Ivan and Sheba looked at each other curiously. Neither of them understood exactly what Lila was talking about. 

"Yeah," Lila nodded, her curls falling into her tearstained face. She did not bother to sweep them back as she continued to speak. "It's kinda strange. There's this weird mist around the castle, which you probably didn't see when you came because it was dark, but sometimes it comes really close. I've heard that's the only time when you can make it go away, but nobody knows how!" 

"How come nobody has found it before?" Ivan asked. "It doesn't really make sense... is it only there at night?" 

"We went a long way," Sheba recalled. "It could have been really out of the way, and only found at night, and who really goes wandering around outside at night? That must be why..." 

"The mist..." Lila's wailing quietened and she went back to sobbing. "I think it's really close right now... I can feel it... please... try and free us..." She started to fade away, until she was completely gone and Ivan and Sheba were alone in the room. 

"Wow..." Sheba's mouth dropped open. "This is all... totally weird..." 

"We had better be very careful when we try to get out," Ivan warned her. "Nobody wants us to leave. We have to find the others. I wonder if there's a way to get rid of the mist?" 

"Poor ghosts," Sheba sighed deeply. "They are just jealous of us, because we're alive and they aren't. They are trapped by a curse and it's not their fault. They were innocent, I know they were." 

"Yes, me too," Ivan pushed the Masamune back into its scabbard. "Lets go, Sheba, we have to find the way out." 

"Alright, lets go!" Sheba darted off with Ivan following behind as they searched for the exit. 

~*~*~ 

Isaac lay on the ground in confusion as the mist swirled around him. He was not sure. Isaac did not know why he was not sure, he just knew that he was. It was a strange kind of confusion that he felt just lying on a cold ground, swathed in mist, with a foreboding castle stretching a long way above him, its peaks and turrets stretching to the hazy sky, steps and balconies looping around it, with cold eyes that masqueraded as windows constantly watching him. Isaac faintly remembered that he had fallen, but why had he fallen? Did he jump out of the window? No, that was Garet... and Isaac had climbed down and lost his grip... 

Isaac gasped and quickly got to his feet, looking around frantically. He was amazed that he was still alive after such a terrible fall, but he had to know if Garet was alive as well. If Isaac had survived a fall, Garet could have too, but Isaac had to take into consideration the fact that Garet had fallen further than he had. Garet had been led to jump from the window, Isaac had slipped halfway down the castle wall. 

"Garet!" Isaac called desperately, walking through the strange mist. "Are you there, Garet?" 

The mists seemed to wrap themselves around Isaac, stretching wispy tendrils around his fingers and slipping down his nostrils, making their presence known upon his body as they raked his blond spiky hair, but he tried not to pay any heed to them. Surely it was only a bad fog, that was all it had to be. 

Isaac's heart leapt as he saw two shadowy figures in the mist. One was tall and stocky, and seemed to be the right shape to be Garet. The other one seemed to have the form of a woman. Isaac shivered as he thought that it might be a ghost. If it was a ghost and Garet was with her, then Garet was in danger. Isaac broke into a run, darting towards the figures, his mouth wide as he shouted. 

"GARET! Watch out!" 

As Isaac came closer, he could see them clearer. It was definitely Garet, and the woman was the one who had lured him out of the window. Garet was looking confused and he turned towards Isaac, a quizzical expression on his face. The woman looked at Isaac and her eyes flashed, her ruby lips curving into a devious smile. 

_Or maybe I'll have you instead..._

Isaac stopped dead in his tracks, frozen to the spot. The woman started to glide towards him and he could not move, he could not escape from her. She came ever closer, her eyes boring into his. Garet stared wordlessly at them, still looking like he did not have a clue what was going on. Isaac would have spoke, but he could not. Seductive arms wrapped around his torso, he felt rancid breath on his skin, and the dead lips zoned in on his own. 

~*~*~ 

'Isaac, what are you doing?' Garet thought as he stared at his best friend currently locked in an embrace with a ghost. It confounded belief. Garet usually got confused, but now he was beyond confused, in the pits of mystification. Nothing was really making sense at the moment. Why had he jumped from a window? How had a castle split everybody up? And why was Isaac snogging a ghost? 

"Isaac?" Garet ventured nervously, wondering if he would pay any attention to him. Isaac however showed no indication that he had heard Garet as he continued with the embrace of death, although Garet was sure that it was not his will. The ghost had to be controlling him, the same way it had made Garet jump from that window. His face hardened and his fists began to glow with red fire. 

_Are you going to use Psynergy, Garet?_

Garet shuddered as the voice sounded in his head. Two large fireballs glowed in the palms of his broad hands but he did not throw them yet. Who was speaking and how did they know that he was using Psynergy, how did they even know it was called that? Was his mind... being read? Garet shook his head as he dispelled that notion. It was ridiculous. He knew perfectly well when Ivan and Sheba read his mind, why should a ghost reading his mind be any different? 

_I would think twice if I were you, Garet!_

"Why?" Garet whispered softly, staring intently at the glowing embers nestled in his hands. They did not burn him, as they radiated a gentle heat, born from his own body. However, if he was to throw them, they would become scorching hot and burn through foes. 

_ Because if you strike me..._

Garet momentarily looked up at the chestnut haired woman who was currently seducing Isaac and realised that this was the ghost whom was speaking in his mind. He waited with baited breath, dying to know why he should not use Psynergy although he hoped not literally. 

_You'll strike Isaac too!_

Garet softly cursed under his breath, letting the fireballs simmer away and die, leaving nothing but a few specks of cold ashes which were blown away by a gentle wind. He had been defeated. There was no way Garet would strike Isaac down, so trying to strike the ghost down was a lost cause. And it did not help that Isaac was weak to fire one bit. 

"Garet!" 

Garet turned and his eyes widened as he saw two figures approaching, breaking through the mists so that he could see them and they could see him, as well as Isaac and the ghost that was currently embracing him. 

"ISAAC?!" 

~*~*~ 

"Oof!" Ivan skittered backwards on his heels as something rammed into his stomach with sudden force. "Wh-what was... that?" 

"Gross!" Sheba exclaimed, hitting back something long and snaky with her mace. "There's tentacles coming out of the walls!" 

"This does not look good," Ivan gulped and narrowly avoided a sneaky tentacle. "We'd better run!" 

"This castle gives me the creeps!" Sheba exclaimed as she started to run, Ivan jogging alongside her. They had their work cut out for them, diving underneath and vaulting over tentacles that stretched out of the walls and struck without warning, only to be knocked back with a well-aimed swing of the Masamune or the Tungsten Mace. 

"Me... too!" Ivan panted as he tried to outrun the tentacles. "I don't know how much more of this stupid stuff we can take!" 

"Ivan! Look out!" 

Ivan momentarily looked back and let out a shout as a slimy tentacle rammed into his head and sent him sailing into the far wall. The impact of colliding with the wall was enough to knock him out. Fortunately, the tentacles had withdrawn as Sheba ran to his side and the danger was over for now. 

"Wake up," Sheba shook the unconscious Adept. "Don't leave me alone here." She looked around nervously and bit her lip anxiously, hoping that nothing else was planning to come their way. She would have to fight and protect Ivan if that happened, and that did not sound as easy as it should have been. 

~*~*~ 

Felix walked on and on, beginning to feel very bored. It was as if the castle was completely empty. He had not bumped into anything living or dead for a long time and he still did not know where he was. He was in an unfamiliar part of the castle where he had not been before, but why had he not seen it on the tour of the castle? Perhaps... it had been kept secret for a reason. Felix wonderd what the reason was. 

The Venusian came to a stop as he spotted something new. He was in the process of walking down a very long hallway, and there was a long way to go yet but now he had discovered a new way to go. Set into the wall was a stone arch and just beyond that was a flight of twisting stone steps which appeared to go on for a long way. Felix was tired of walking down unfamiliar hallways so he hurriedly started travelling up the steps, prepared for the long climb which would take him to the top of the castle. Whatever was up there, he would soon find out. 

~*~*~ 

"Isaac..." Jenna stared at the blond Venus Adept, disbelief registered on her face. "Garet, what the heck is he DOING?" 

"How could he do that?" Mia wondered, her face chalk white with horror. "Go off with a ghost... I thought better of him..." 

"No! You've got it wrong!" Garet exclaimed before they decided to go and give Isaac a piece of their minds. "The ghost is controlling him!" 

"Really?" Jenna looked at him with mild scorn. "The ghost is controlling him?" 

"And just why," Mia cut in, although not as meanly as Jenna. "Why would the ghost even want to get off with Isaac in that way?" 

_You don't get it, do you?_

"Huh?" Garet, Jenna and Mia turned to look at the ghost and Isaac. Isaac had not moved, still locked in his fatal embrace with the dead woman. 

_This is not being done out of love... I have not tasted such sweet youth, such blissful life in so long... his life force is all I want and here he is, giving it to me so willingly._

The trio exchanged blank, confused looks with each other. The comment on life had unsettled them slightly but it was still not enough for them to fully comprehend what the woman was saying. 

_Watch..._

Swift gazes fixed on the embracing couple and then something happened that caused them to look horrified. Isaac seemed to have stretched as if jerked on strings, his body taut and balanced on his toes. His hands had started to curl strangely as if... as if Isaac was somehow turning old. 

"Isaac!" Jenna exclaimed, her hand flying to her mouth. "She's..." 

"What are you doing?" Mia screeched, staring in shock at the curling hand of Isaac. 

_He is losing his youth to me... when it is fully gone, Isaac will be so old... that he dies._

"No!" 

_You lose..._

"Not yet we haven't!" Garet growled belligerently. "I never give up!" 

"Isaac! No!" Mia started running towards them, her hand outstretched but she ended up crashing into a newly formed barrier around the clinching duo and falling to the ground, looking stunned. "Unnnhhhh..." 

"You cowardly ghost!" Jenna beat on the faint, transparent barrier that shimmered slightly, allowing her to see it. She tried to break through but it was too difficult. "Let Isaac go!" 

"You... wrench!" shouted Garet, hurling a fireball straight at the woman who was holding Isaac in an embrace of death. However, the fireball merely hit the barrier and fizzled out with a gust of steam. Garet sagged, looking disappointed. "I don't believe it..." 

"Isaac..." Mia's blue eyes welled up with desperate tears and she buried her head in her hands. "He can't..." 

"No..." Jenna protested softly, her hands pressed firmly against the imposing barrier as she watched the cruel spirit suck away Isaac's life. 

~*~*~ 

"Ivan..." 

Ivan turned on the spot as he looked around in amazement. He was not sure where he was, but it was as if he was on the sky for it appeared as if he was walking on the very clouds he often saw above him, up high above Weyard. Had he looked down, he might have been able to see it, but his attention was solely focused for now on the person who had spoken his name. 

A tall woman stood just a few metres away from him, a kind smile on her face. Her dark amethyst eyes twinkled like stars, her creamy face framed by soft, wispy lavender hair. She wore robes of white, green, purple and gold. Ivan thought that he knew who she was although he hardly dared to hope that it might actually be her, the woman he could not remember. 

"My dear Ivan, my baby," The woman held out her arms, a joyful tear running down her cheek. "It's me, your mother." 

"Mom..." Ivan's voice shook as he looked at her in amazement, taking a giddy step forwards. "Mom!" He hurtled forwards into her arms and revelled in her gentle embrace, the embrace he had always wanted. The loving hug of a mother, a soothing kiss on his head. He had longed for that privately without admitting it, and now he was receiving it. 

"I missed you, Ivan," Ivan's mother smoothed his blonde hair with a gentle hand, her nails long and smooth as they raked over the soft tendrils. "I have missed you so much. I have not seen you since you were only a little baby." 

"Mom," Ivan was too choked up with emotion to say much else, happy tears forming in his eyes. "I'm so happy to be with you at last." 

"Yes, we're together at last," His mother released her embrace and held him at arm's length to get a good look at her son. "Now you can come with me and we will live together peacefully in death. Whatever you do, do not look back." 

Ivan was a curious type of person. Perhaps he was not curious in the same way as Sheba who could quite happily sneak around deviously and find out things that she should not be, but Ivan still had the thirst to know things and it was only natural for him to have childlike curiousity, to know why it was that his deceased mother had forbidden him to look backwards. And so, the Jupitarian did exactly the opposite, craning his neck and looking back. 

Ivan wound up being subjected to a movie of his life. It was as if images in his memory, or even images that he of course could not remember, had been pasted onto the sky and played back for his benefit. He saw his mother handing him out as a swaddled baby to Hammet in Contigo, being trained as a servant, running around and playing with other children in the streets of Kalay, the eruption of Mt. Aleph, joining with Isaac and Garet and eventually recruiting Mia, Mercury Lighthouse, meeting Hama in Lama Temple, the Venus Lighthouse... the events leading up to Jupiter Lighthouse, ad the climax, finding out that Mars Lighthouse had to be lit as soon as possible... the discovery that Hama was his older sister... his friends... Isaac, Garet, Mia, Felix, Jenna, Sheba, Picard... Hama... his sister... 

Ivan broke away from his mother's hold with an anguished shout and started running towards the pictures of his life, desperate tears flowing from the corners of his eyes. He purposefully ignored his mother's agonised scream, knowing that it would be wrong to abandon his sister and his friends when it was so important to get the quest finished and to save the world. He had lost his mother many years ago, and although it was nice to see her, he could not turn away from his life. Ivan pedalled straight through the frozen life images and then found himself falling into empty nothingness... 

"Ivan, please... please wake up!" 

Ivan moaned softly and his eyes creaked open. His vision was blurred but he could just make out the hazy form of Sheba, looking concernedly at him. Her face lit up wih considerable relief. 

"Oh thank goodness, you're alright!" Sheba exclaimed. "I was really worried for a minute there. You had gone so cold... I was worried... I thought you were going to die... but now you're awake." 

"Sheba," Ivan stared at her and then his eyes began to mist over, the corners of his mouth turning down. "I saw her... I saw my mother..." 

"Oh, Ivan," Sheba pulled him into a consoling hug and he cried freely into her chest while she rubbed his back. As she comforted him, she wondered about her own parents, if they were still alive out there somewhere... but she would probably never know. 

~*~*~ 

Felix walked tiredly up the staircase, taking one step after another. He was beginning to feel extremely bored as he made his way up the long, seemingly neverending staircase. It was nearly enough to make him wish that a bunch of monsters would come thirsting for battle, but Felix was not really sure he wanted that in this kind of place. It would be qute easy to vault over the sides and fall all the way back down, and not a good place to take chances. Felix found it strangely easy to forget that the castle was supposed to be dangerous, he was that bored but still, he supposed, it was better than fighting a ten foot tall monster. 

He was possibly the most fortunate out of all the Adepts at the moment, he was not in danger or witnessing terrible things that would have made him scream. 

He did not see the hulking apparition sneaking slowly towards the Jupiter Adepts in the darkness while they lingered in each other's presence, Sheba trying to quell Ivan's desperate tears with all the comfort she could lend him. 

He did not see the macabre creature that ambushed Picard, plucked the Exclalibur from his sheath without warning and threw it before advancing on him with its weapon, a blade suspended on a chain. 

Nor did he see Jenna and Mia pounding desperately on an unyielding barrier while Garet cursed and shouted, as Isaac grew old and withered in the clutches of an ages dead woman. 

All Felix saw was a ray of hope, as he walked off the staircase and entered the topmost peak of the castle, the tallest room with triangular holes for windows surrounding it. In that room he found the Lord and Lady of the castle, two dead people, standing there as if they had been waiting for him all along. Lord McLean held a strange orb in his hands. Both of them looked unnaturall, their eyes blank with the coldness of death that they experienced, their skin withered and pale as if it were their bones showing through. 

"You," Felix said shortly, not in any mood for manners. "You've been waiting for me the whole time, haven't you?" 

"Where are your friends?" Lord McLean rasped in a dead voice that sounded like the rustling of autumn leaves as the breeze swept them across the ground. 

"I thought perhaps you could tell me," Felix responded sarcastically. "Thanks to your petty little tricks, we all got split up and I do not know what is happening to them, but I do know that I had to fight off a horde of mad zombies and I nearly got killed by a giant monster." 

"I see you are not enjoying our entertainment," Lady McLean said coldly. "We are all dead, trapped for eternity in this castle, forever in the mists of time. Thanks to our orb of power, we made sure it was this way. And the living shall die, and join us in this eternal death!" 

"You're mad!" Felix exclaimed, his dark brown eyes widening in horror. "You... it's your fault that the castle's this way?" 

"A long time ago our castle was destroyed by invading monsters," Lord McLean started to explain, stroking the orb in his hands as he spoke. "Yet our spirits remained as if we were searching for something. I found the Mist Crystal, and I discovered a way that would keep us here forever. The castle returned and we dwell in here, experiencing the eternal dead and luring the living to join us. Once every year however the Mist Crystal's power weakens and that is when I and Lady McLean seek solace in the highest room in the castle, watching the mists creep closer to the castle. As long as the crystal remains intact, we stay here in death in our castle." 

"I see..." Felix stared at the small, innocent looking orb that was the cause of all their troubles. A small, round glass object with a hazy fine mist inside that made a smoky effect upon the glass. He looked back up, a determined expression on his face. "Well, I'll just have to try and destroy it then!" 

"You won't get a chance, boy!" Lady McLean snarled, linking her hand with Lord McLean's as he held the crystal in the other. 

Before Felix could even move, a surprising transformation took place before his own eyes. The two ghosts had suddenly merged into one being, slightly taller than he was and somewhat bulkier, with glaring, slanted yellow eyes and long, tousled black hair falling over its shoulders, as well as a long beaked nose. Hands lengthened into elongated claws, arms and legs became long and gangly. The being snarled and stomped a clawed foot, sounding a battle cry. It wore a ragged white shirt around its torso and a shred of loincloth further down. The Mist Crystal was now hanging on a slender chain around its neck. 

"Whoa..." Felix took a step back, staring at it in amazement, then he soon recovered and was able to retort. "That's seriously the best you can do?" 

Claws slashed through the air in a fluid motion but Felix was quicker, dodging and jumping back, a dangerous idea beginning to form in his mind. First, before he put it into action, he would try to use his Psynergy. 

"Odyssey!" Felix shouted, glowing with the aura of Psynergy, his sword drawn and placed flat across his palm, held tight in the other hand as he normally held it before he prepared to strike. Twin swords flowed through the air and rammed directly into the beast, then Felix ran forwards and drove the Sol Blade directly through its scaled hide. It screamed in pain as he jumped back, expectantly waiting to see how much damage he had done. The creature slowly rose to its feet, and the scars left from the Odyssey psynergy seemed to close up slightly, leaving only red weals. 

'It can't... can it?' Felix gulped as he looked at the thinning wounds. The monster smirked cattily at him as if it had just triumphed over him somehow. 'Oh no, it's healed itself!' 

"A healer, huh?" The Venus Adept tried not to look cowed since healing was not that unusual after all. "Well, that's only a slight disadvantage, isn't it?" 

The humanoid looking monster screeched and leaped into the air, coming down with claws drawn once more slashing through the air at him. Felix tried to dodge the attack, but the claws managed to rake his arm. The monster stepped back and sneered at Felix who was looking at his wound in dismay. 

"It hurts..." Felix complained, deciding that he might as well go and put his plan into action now. The monster was actually quite quick and strong with apparently skilled healing psynergy for its wounds had almost completely disappeared, leaving only faint lines. It expectantly waited for his next move, its yellow eyes glinting coldly as it watched him. 

"You want more?" Felix asked, stepping backwards until he was almost out of the room. "If you had any wit and intelligence and bravery, then you would follow me right out here! But then again you're probably too chicken to fight fairly so I wouldn't really be surprised if you chose to stay up here and lick your wounds, whinging like a brazen coward." 

As he had thought it would, his comments had angered the beast. It roared furiously and lowered its head, charging directly at him. Felix turned and started running until he found himself on the staircase and the monster suddenly bearing down on top of him. Felix ducked and rolled, grabbing onto the bannisters to stop himself from falling all the way. The monster came to a stop a few steps further down and screeched, lumbering towards him. Felix stood up tall, flat against the bars and then the humanoid thing leaped. The next few moments seemed to be in slow motion as Felix ducked and aimed a kick, elevating it so that it went sailing over the edge, but it managed to grab his cape and pull him over as well. Felix shouted in pain as agony shot through his back and he stretched out his arms, managing to grab hold of the railing with one hand. The desperate Venus Adept valiantly kicked at the creature that was hanging onto him and trying to drag him down and he was reassured by the sound of ripping fabric as it started to plunge down, holding a mere shred of green material. 

In the fury of the battle, the chain had broken, the chain that held the orb. It came away from the creature's neck and went sailing down into the depths of the stairwell. The creature screamed and reached out, but it was too far away. The Mist Crystal was out of reach, rushing towards the inevitable impact upon the stone grounds of the castle. 

Felix sighed exhaustedly, holding on with one hand. His other arm hurt too much to move and he was just too tired to try pulling himself up with only one arm. He miserably rested his head against the cold stone bars, wishing he had just cast a Grand Gaia and blown the monster off the steps or something instead of trying stupid stunts, but it was too late to regret anything now. It always was. 

That one last minute was the most desperate for every Adept in or just outside the castle. 

As Felix hung on for his life, Picard was staring death in the face as he was pinned to the wall and the grotesque creature's weapon came sailing towards him. It was surely going to hit its target and he just could not escape. 

Ivan opened his eyes and saw the claws of death slashing through the still air. He screamed and Sheba turned to look, but it was just too late for the Jupiter Adepts as the fiend struck at them. 

The last shreds of Isaac's life were slowly slipping away as he was drunken in by the intoxicating venom of the fiendish ghoul that embraced him, not hearing the screams of his friends, not seeing them pound desperately on the barrier that separated them. 

Their fates depended solely upon one small object that fell towards the ground, the very object that had been keeping a castle and its residents hostage in the mists for two hundred and fifty years. A simple orb with a fine mist captured inside, its surface smooth and clear, free of any cracks or blemishes. It seemed to sparkle and shine in the darkness as it plummeted. 

With one final resounding bang, it struck the ground and with an almighty crack, its surface was fractured and the shards of glass sailed off in different directions, glittering as they skittered over the stone floor. The monster screeched but it was just too late and the last thing it saw before it hit the ground and perished was a coil of mist snaking up from the place where the orb had landed. 

And it was in that instant that the mists rushed forwards and devoured the castle, taking every spirit and illusion with it, replacing the site with grass and a river snaking through, making it appear as if there had never been a castle there before. 

Felix was stunned as he groped at nothing, his mouth opening in a soundless scream as he plummeted downwards. 

Picard sighed in relief as the blade disappeared only centimetres away from his chest. He looked around in surprise as he got up and picked up the Excalibur, wondering what exactly had happened to the castle. 

"That was close, wasn't it?" Ivan shuddered, still remembering the rush of wind he had felt as the claws had slashed at them, one only a whisker away from penetrating his skull. 

"Not kidding," Sheba stood up and turned around, clearly mystified. "I wonder if we'll ever know what became of the castle?" 

"Maybe they are free now," Ivan suggested hopefully. "Somehow." 

Isaac collapsed to the ground as the spirit which had been holding him disappeared with the mists. The mists had also devoured the barrier so Garet, Jenna and Mia came rushing to his side. 

"Is he...?" Jenna ventured nervously, looking at Isaac's limp form. 

"Isaac..." Mia turned him over onto his back and checked for his pulse. "Isaac's alive... thank goodness, he's still alive!" 

"And he's back to normal too," Garet added. He had been freaked by Isaac's transformation while the woman had sucked his life out, his hair had even been turning silver, but now it was back to ordinary dishwater blond. 

"Unnnh..." Isaac shivered and opened his eyes, staring up at everybody. "Hi... what's happening?" 

"It's a long story," Jenna told him. "We'll tell it later." 

"Hey, here's Picard!" Garet exclaimed as the Lemurian came walking towards them. "Did you meet ghosts?" 

"Naturally," Picard replied. 

All heads were turned towards a sound, a massive splash that sent water gushing into the sky and falling back down in scattered drops. 

"What was that?" Ivan asked, staring at the place where the sound had come from. 

"Sounds like somebody fell into some deep water," Sheba giggled, wondering who it was. 

"Why me?" Felix complained loudly as he emerged from the river, swimming clumsily towards the river bank and hauled himself up, staggering over the grass as he clutched his wounded arm, looking hurt. 

"Hey! Felix!" Sheba rushed up to him and looked at him concernedly. "You're hurt..." 

"Yeah," Felix winced. "It's just a little scratch..." 

"That splash was really something," Ivan grinned and started walking away, towards the others as Felix and Sheba followed. 

The reunion was a happy one. Mia tended to injuries and then Felix got out the map, so that they could pinpoint their exact location and figure out how to get to Mikasalla from where they were. 

"We should be here," Isaac pointed at a blue streak. "That's the river Felix fell into-" 

"Don't remind me," muttered the soaking wet Venusian. 

"So we go to Mikasalla... this way!" Jenna punched the place where Mikasalla was with a finger. 

"Hello, it really is nice to see you all again. I do hope we can get to Mikasalla as soon as possible and that we can tell our tales on the way. I am quite famished after all," a new voice cut in. 

"Hello, Kraden," said Sheba halfheartedly. "How... nice to see you again." 

The sky was clear blue, dotted with very few clouds, so the Adepts could set off on their journey to Mikasalla without fear of rain. As they walked, their tales were told and the puzzle was finally solved. Where the castle had been, there was no indication, save for a little bow nestled in the grass that could have been white once, but now it was too dirty and stained with age that it was too difficult to tell. Nobody who picked it up would know that it had once been worn by a little girl two hundred and fifty years ago, who had led a team of warriors to a castle that had been trapped there ever since and in turn helped to bring about the freeing of the castle so that the ghosts of the past were finally at rest. 

--- 

W...o...w... This was... long... 

Isaac: I feel that long is an understatement. 

Felix: It's... colossal! 

I worked myself to the bone on this, it had better be worth it! 

Ivan: I'm sure it will. Please review or the ghost of Lila might come and get you. 

Sheba: And we mean it! >=) 

Mia: Hey! No scaring the readers! :o 


End file.
